Battle of Destiny Begins
by DemonSessama
Summary: Duelist Kingdom left Kylie and Katherine Hope along with their friend Yugi Muto and his spirit counterpart with a warning of a Millennium Item thief, now someone with an interest in Other Yugi has appeared; combined with the spirit's past coming to light and a new tournament run by Seto starting, the four and their friends will have their hands full. Part 2 of the Hope Chronicles
1. Chapter 1

**Good Day Readers and welcome to the sequel to The Coming of Shadows! Thanks to all of you for the support so. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation.**

**I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 1: - Challenge From The Past!

Myself and Katherine were walking through Domino City with both of us cooling down after a rather intense business meeting, it was the only reason Kathie had been excused from her morning classes, since both of us had twenty percent of our family business in our possession it was necessary for both of us to attend meetings.

Unfortunately those damned meetings required me to be stuffed in a rather uncomfortable three piece suit with equally uncomfortable high heels strapped to my feet, Katherine's height prevented her from wearing any high heel shoes whilst I suffered this pain alone, sometimes I envied my sister's short stature.

Since it had been a meeting the both of us had left our decks at home – safely under tight lock and key with magic seals as well – so both of us were eager to get back and reattach the cards to our hips, neither of us had been settled without the decks at hand, perhaps from our experiences from numerous Shadow Games or our Spirit Partners' warning of destiny, the unease was always present.

"Oh, Katherine-chan, Kylie-san!" A voice called. It was a sweet voice whose owner I'd grown to care for nearly as much as my own sister, I looked up to see Yugi along with the annoying Anzu walking towards us, both were dressed in their school clothing although I noticed that Yugi's Millennium Puzzle was hanging from a chain instead of a chord. "Why are you two dressed like that?" Yugi asked.

"Business meeting, we've just finished up and are cooling off but I'll be in school soon," Katherine answered. My sister was actually staring right at the boy as she spoke and not hiding herself, this caused me to smile since Kathie was managing to open up to other people although I'm sure their soul bond helped with that aspect, I then turned my attention back to the chain.

"A chain? That's actually a good move, after all if a certain someone is correct, it's much safe than the chord you had before," I commented. Yugi's lips thinned as he gently cupped a hand around his Puzzle, my words were a reference to the warning that Shadi had given us little over a month ago, it had me on edge waiting for this thief to show his or her damned face so I could pay them back for hurting my uncle.

However Yugi attention was pulled away causing his head to turn allowing us to see a figure dressed in a black robe that obscured any features sat behind a table with a crystal ball on it, two golden chains – one at the top of the head and one underneath the chin – were attached to the material of the robe but above the top chain was a purple version of the eye symbol that appeared on the Millennium Items.

Anzu asked what Yugi was doing as me and Katherine exchanged worried looks, if that eye appeared it normally meant danger for us because that meant they most likely knew of the Items; they may even be in possess one of them so naturally I was wary of that symbol ever since the events of Duelist Kingdom.

"You have something quite magnificent there," The figure spoke. It's voice was masculine and showed somewhat familiar to me but I couldn't quite peg where I'd heard it before, the individual then held out his hand towards Yugi. "May I see it?" The man asked. A churning feeling in the pit of my stomach appeared as something about the request make me feel rather uneasy.

"Not this! It's very important!" Yugi protested. His hands once more came to wrap around the ancient item in an attempt to protect it from the man who began to push, claiming he had experience with ancient artefacts before and could determine what it was he was looking at. "As long as it's really just for a moment," Yugi relented.

There was only one problem with sweet souls like Katherine and Yugi, they submitted to other people far too easily in order to keep them happy; Yugi removed the Puzzle and handed it to the man who spoke for a bit before smashing his foot into the table sending it towards us as he ran off down the alleyway right behind him.

Not wasting a second, I immediately kicked off both of my uncomfortable heels and began to chase after the thief with two pairs of footsteps quickly following after me, a quick pulse of magic confirmed that it was Yugi and Katherine which didn't surprise me in the least since it was Yugi's Puzzle and Katherine wouldn't abandon us just in case we got into trouble.

"Anzu's gone to get the others and hopefully the police," Katherine admitted. We kept running coming to a turn only to discover an arrow on the wall pointing us further inwards right beside us with more of these arrows deeper in the alleyway. "Oh yes, like this doesn't scream trap," Katherine sarcastically quipped. I did not blame her for thinking that way but despite the obvious sign of danger all three of us pushed further into the alleyway.

We followed those arrows until we were led to a seemingly abandoned building causing my lips to thin but we still approached the building and entered through the door that was indicate by an arrow stuck to the door opposite it, inside the building was dark and I could vaguely make out the shapes of machines.

Yugi began calling out into the building demanding that the Puzzle be returned to him, a light came on revealing the Millennium Puzzle pinned into the side of something by a thick metal spike with the spike stabbing through one of the links of the chain, a voice called out that for Yugi to get his Puzzle back then he had to defeat the speaker in a duel.

At that word more lights came on briefly blinding us before it slowly faded away revealing that a Duel Arena had been set up within the building and across from us stood the thief that had run off with Puzzle, a scowl twisted across my lips as I stepped forward slightly so that the theif would actually focus on me instead of poor Yugi.

"Yugi doesn't have to duel you, give the Puzzle back to him!" I snapped. However it was as if the man hadn't even heard me as he walked over to the red podium causing me to scowl deeper before I turned back to Yugi. "Can the Other You hear you?" I asked. Yugi looked at the Puzzle not saying a word but I guessed he was communicating with his other side.

"He says I have to fight alone as someone is trying to draw him out," Yugi whispered. Naturally me and my sister were rather worried about those words, not only was someone attempting to draw out the ancient spirit but it clearly wasn't the thief from how Yugi had worded the response, a chilling feeling settled into my bones at that thought.

"Well we're right here to help," Katherine reassured. Yugi nodded so he approached the blue podium whilst me and my sister moved to the side of the arena so that we could watch the duel, I knew Yugi was good but I was rather worried about who could be behind the current events as the Duel Arena started up.

**Thief – LP: 2000 **

**Yugi – LP: 2000**

Yugi was allowed to take the first turn and our young friend started the duel off by bringing out Elf Swordsman in attack mode, there was something very unsettling about the opponent that Yugi was facing, I swear that I knew him somehow but I couldn't put my finger on why this person was familiar to me, maybe I'd learn this person's identity during the duel.

**Elf Swordsman – Attribute: Earth, Type: Warrior, Level: 4, ATK/1400, DEF/1200**

The only move that the thief made was to play a monster in face down defence mode probably trying to lure Yugi into a trap of some variety, Yugi was contemplative for a moment before the thief reminded our friend it was his turn so Yugi ordered his elven warrior to attack the face down monster however it was revealed to be Cyber Pod.

If the others had been present at the duel I'd probably be explaining what the effect of Cyber Pod was to them; when this particular monster was destroyed it sucked in all monsters on the field, allowed both players to draw the top five cards and summon out any Level Four or lower monsters that they had drawn within those five cards.

Elf Swordsman was shattered shortly followed by Cyber Pod so the two duelists reached over to their decks and drew out the five cards, Yugi played a single card face down whilst his opponent proceeded to summon out two monster with one being Mecha Hunter whilst the other was Ground Attacker Bugroth.

**Mecha Hunter – Attribute: Dark, Type: Machine, Level: 4, ATK/1850, DEF/800**

**Ground Attacker Bugroth – Attribute: Earth, Type: Machine, Level: 4, ATK/1500, DEF/1000**

"Machines… those are all Machine-types," Katherine noted. That was an interesting point as all the monsters that this thief had played so far had been of the Machine variety however my eyes widened as the pieces fell into place within my mind, there was indeed someone I'd met recently that used a Machine-type loaded deck.

"Could it be? Are you Bandit Keith?" Yugi called out. It seemed he had caught onto the same fact as I had so the man reached up and pulled his hood down revealing the disgraced American duelist lacking the sunglasses that had covered his eyes which had an uncharacteristically blank look about them. "Why're you here?" Yugi asked.

"It is true that this man is known as Bandit Keith," Keith spoke. His voice was calm and lacking its' previous arrogance however the three of us exchanged looks at the words 'this man'… Keith unusually blank eyes were strange along with his voice because it was unlike him but to speak such strange words was definitely a give away about something being wrong. "After the fact, Keith was thrown into the sea," Keith spoke.

Now I knew something was wrong, speaking in the third person was unusual, Keith continued speaking claiming 'this man' had a grudge against Yugi simply because he – along with the rest of us – got in the way of the American getting his revenge against Pegasus along with the cash prize that was on offer during Duelist Kingdom, at that moment Keith's eyes changed and he cursed Yugi before the eyes became hollow again.

"He's possessed!" I exclaimed. Yugi snapped his head down towards me probably wondering what I could possibly be getting at by saying those words although Katherine's eyes widened in shock. "Yugi, someone is manipulating Keith's mind, using the grudge he has to his or hers' advantage by targeting you," I explained. Yugi's eyes widened as he understood before turning back to his opponent.

Whoever was possessing Keith continued the duel by bringing out Machine King which caused both me and Katherine to frown as Machine King gained one hundred attack points for every Machine-type monster that was out on the controller's field including itself which meant that the newest monster immediately got a power boost fair power boost.

**Machine King – Attribute: Earth, Type: Machine, Level: 6, ATK/2200, DEF/2000**

**Machine King – ATK/2200 – ATK/2500**

'Keith' immediately had his giant holographic toy attack Yugi's face down monster thus destroying it but our friend simply replaced the monster with another face down in defence, 'Keith' proceeded to taunt Yugi over him being afraid of the monster army but promised to play an Ultra Rare card later on in the duel, he then brought out Megasonic Eye.

**Megasonic Eye – Attribute: Dark, Type: Machine, Level: 5, ATK/1500, DEF/1800**

**Machine King – ATK/2500 – ATK/2600**

The giant toy attacked Yugi's face down monster thus destroying it as well, Yugi seriously needed to get out a monster that was powerful enough to destroy the Machine King, preferably before 'Keith' brought out Defence Sealing or some other card that blocked defence or a card that dealt piercing damage.

"Yugi your monsters are being annihilated one by one," 'Keith' taunted. Yugi looked annoyed and I couldn't blame him since he couldn't lose the Millennium Puzzle to whoever was controlling Keith. "What's the matter? Why don't you call out the other you like you did back in the Kingdom?" 'Keith' asked. Those words confirmed that whoever was speaking couldn't be Keith because he shouldn't know about the Other Yugi.

"I won't let things go your way!" Yugi declared. Clearly Yugi wasn't going to be so easily baited into giving up the spirit, he then proceeded to make his move by summoning Curse of Dragon out onto the field and that monster was swiftly followed by its' fusion partner Gaia the Dark Knight, the route this was going to take was clear to me after seeing Other Yugi duel and dueling against the man.

**Curse of Dragon – Attribute: Dark, Type: Dragon, Level: 5, ATK/2000, DEF/1500**

**Gaia the Dark Knight – Attribute: Earth, Type: Warrior, Level: 7, ATK/2300, DEF/2100**

"I fuse Curse of Dragon with Gaia the Dark Knight!" Yugi continued. He activated the Fusion card allowing his two monsters to be fused together in order to summon out Gaia the Dragon Knight and thankfully this monster was strong enough to destroy all of the thief's monsters although it would be destroyed as well if it engaged Machine King.

**Gaia the Dragon Knight – Attribute: Wind, Type: Dragon/Fusion, Level: 7, ATK/2600, DEF/2100**

Yugi commanded his dragon to attack the Mecha Hunter destroying it in the ensuing battle, as such not only was Machine King's attack points lowered but 'Keith' also took a hit to his Life Points causing me to let out a breath of air as Katherine clasped her hands together grateful that Yugi had managed to do this manoeuvre.

'**Keith' – LP: 2000 – LP: 1250**

**Machine King – ATK/2600 – ATK/2500**

'Keith' stared his move by switching Megasonic Eye and Ground Attacker Bugroth to defence mode then he proceeded to activate Machine Conversion Factory which could increase the attack and defence of all monsters that 'Keith' had out on the field thus making Machine King stronger than Gaia for now.

**Ground Attacker Bugroth – ATK/1500 – ATK/1800, DEF/1000 – DEF/1300**

**Machine King – ATK/2500 – ATK/2800, DEF/2000 – DEF/2300**

**Megasonic Eye – ATK/1500 – ATK/1800, DEF/1800 – DEF/2100**

Yugi realised the danger he was in instantly as 'Keith' ordered Machine King to attack Gaia which was swiftly destroyed and Yugi's Life Points were lowered as a result caused Katherine to bite down on her bottom lip whilst mine thinned in worry for Yugi; the young boy had to keep a level head whilst facing this man otherwise he might lose which equalled the loss of the Puzzle to the stranger controlling Keith.

**Yugi – LP: 2000 – LP: 1800**

Whoever was manipulating Keith's mind used the American to begin taunting Yugi claiming that the boy had to be serious like he **usually **was, clearly another fool attempt at getting Yugi to swap with the ancient spirit, I was curious as to why this person was so determined to draw out the spirit and I couldn't help but think this person may have been the thief Shadi warned us of.

Yugi was quiet for a few moments after 'Keith' finally shut up, the young boy was examining his card clearly trying to come up with a strategy using the cards he had before proceeding to declare that even Machines have a weakness and he proceeded to prove this fact by summoning out Demon's Summon.

**Demon's Summon – Attribute: Dark, Type: Demon, Level: 6, ATK/2500, DEF/1200**

However Yugi didn't stop there as he proceeded to activate Magical Mist, Makiu thus allowing the mystical rain to pour down on the Duel Arena and rusting the Machines which stripped them of any power up they possessed whilst also managing to allow Demon's Summon to have its' own power to be increased making it strong enough to destroy the machines.

**Demon's Summon – ATK/2500 – ATK/3250**

**Ground Attacker Bugroth – ATK/1800 – ATK/1500, DEF/1300 – DEF/1000**

**Machine King – ATK/2800 – ATK/2500, DEF/2300 – DEF/2000**

**Megasonic Eye – ATK/1800 – ATK/1500, DEF/2100 – DEF/1800**

Yugi immediately had his demonic creature unleash its' lightning attack straight at Machine King, thanks to its' power increase Demon's Summon was able to destroy Machine King thereby reduce the thief's Life Points even more; hopefully bringing this duel to the ending point so that we could take the Millennium Puzzle and leave.

'**Keith' – LP: 1250 – LP: 500**

**Demon's Summon – ATK/3250 – ATK/2500**

'Keith' proceeded to make a move by activating the Spell Angel's Charity allowing him to draw three cards in exchange for discarding two, he proceeded to draw those cards and immediately activated a Ritual Spell known as Zera Ritual which was a card that brought out the Ultra Rare card known as Zera by sacrificing the two monsters that remained on his field.

However there was a major problem with that, Zera was a rare card even amongst Ultra rare cards, in fact there were only three original cards of Zera with Yugi having never even seen one and I only knew the location of one because it sat in my mother's deck, it was quite shocking to hear that this thief had Zera placed in his hostage's deck.

**Zera – Attribute: Dark, Type: Demon/Ritual, Level: 8, ATK/2800, DEF/2300**

'Keith' ordered Zera to attack Demon's Summon tearing the demon's arms off as Demon's Summon was destroyed by the attack, with a powerful card at the ready to fight I was worried about how this was going to turn out for Yugi because none of us were willing to surrender the Millennium Puzzle nor did we want to endanger the spirit by revealing him to an unknown enemy.

**Yugi – LP: 1800 – LP: 1500**

"Such an Ultra Rare card… I… I can't beat it!" Yugi panicked. The thief proceeded to taunt Yugi once more attempting to coax the poor boy into shifting to the spirit claiming he wanted to know the man's true form with Keith's mind making a brief breakthrough to curse our friend, however this whole exchange was angering me a fair bit.

"Alright I've had enough of this! Spit out what you want with Other Yugi already!" I snapped. The individual that was controlling Keith had him turn to look at me however the blank eyes that the American possessed ended up widened as if in response to something that shocked them when they looked at me.

"It can't be… you… you are… then that man must be him!" 'Keith' exclaimed. Naturally all of us were confused by what the puppet master could possibly be talking about and exactly who this 'him' was that he though the spirit had to be simply because of me being here, I could already feel a headache forming between my eyes.

'It's official, my life just got seriously screwed up.' I thought. No matter how badly my life had been messed up before, this new wrinkle definitely topped everything else I had come into contact with so far.


	2. Chapter 2

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation.**

**I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 2: - The Broken Millennium Puzzle

This was really, really bad; that was probably an understatement but I couldn't exactly think of the words to describe our current situation at the moment, Kylie probably could and they more than likely involved plenty of cursing from the dark look that was swirling in her green eyes as she glared at the possessed Keith.

Whoever was behind Keith's actions clearly knew things that we did not, what I wanted to know the most thought was exactly why this person seemed so interested in the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle and why the spirit had to be a certain someone simply because my sister was present here; of course whoever this was seemed to be rather mute on giving us answers if the reactions was anything to go by.

To make matters worse I was beginning to get that same creeping feeling that always curled in the pit of my stomach when the power of the Shadow Realm was leaking into our world; Yugi was looking a little shaky as he was uncertain about how to go about continuing with this game and neither me or Kylie could help because of my infernal shyness which was acting up and Kylie's tough love way of dealing with problems unless it was me.

'Keith' called out that it was Yugi's turn so the boy reached forward and withdrew a card from his deck before proceeding to play it face down in defence mode, it was the only option he had until he could bring out a monster stronger than Zera or could weaken the demonic creature to make it easier to handle.

The thief proceeded to summon out another monster known as Holy Knight Dragon and then set a card face down, however he didn't stop his turn there as he proceeded to activate Defence Sealing thus forcing Yugi monster to be unveiled as the Devil Dragon whilst leaving the kind boy vulnerable to an attack now.

**Devil Dragon – Attribute: Dark, Type: Dragon, Level: 4, ATK/1700, DEF/1200**

**Holy Knight Dragon – Attribute: Light, Type: Dragon, Level: 7, ATK/2500, DEF/2300**

Whoever was controlling Keith wasted no time as he or she proceeded to have Zera attack Yugi's Devil Dragon thus destroying it and ripping away a large portion of Yugi's remaining Life Points causing a gasp to be ripped from my lungs – almost as if I'd been the one hit – whilst Kylie's hands balled into fists at the way this duel had suddenly swung.

**Yugi – LP: 1500 – LP: 400**

Fortunately Defence Sealing only lasted for this turn allowing Yugi to set another monster in face down defence position in order to hopefully protect his Life Points for a little longer; of course 'Keith' immediately had his Holy Knight Dragon attack the monster getting rid of it without a hint of hesitation in his blank face.

He then placed two cards face down in the Magic and Trap zone, I didn't doubt that they were probably more Ultra Rare cards that the puppet master had somehow got a hold of and stuffed into Keith's deck, the only problem was if those cards would cause problems for Yugi at all during this duel, 'Keith' then switched Zera to defence mode.

"That's odd. Why would he switch Zera's mode?" Kylie questioned. It did seem suspicious after all there weren't any cards out on Yugi's field at the moment and although he couldn't see the boy's hand like Pegasus used to, switching his dragon made more sense since it was more likely to be destroyed than Zera, causing my eyes to focus on the newly played cards.

"Face down," I suggested. Kylie nodded her head, it was likely something to do with one of the face downs that 'Keith' had slapped out, Yugi proceeded to start his turn by playing a card face down on the field and then he summoned out the Black Magician in defence mode, we could sure use one of his magic tricks round about now.

**Black Magician – Attribute: Dark, Type: Magician, Level: 7, ATK/2500, DEF/2100**

Yugi then proceeded to activate Magical Silk Hats in order to conceal the Black Magician, if this worked then Yugi might be able to trick his opponent and weaken Zera like his other side had done to previous opponents and finally work out a strategy in order to defeat Keith and whoever was messing with his mind.

"So you're trying to hide him? Then a trap card, Magic Jammer activate!" 'Keith' declared. My lips twisted into a frown whilst Kylie sneered at the activation of another rare card, by discarding a card from their hands the controller was allowed to destroy a Magic card on the opponent's side thus getting rid of Magical Silk Hats and exposing Black Magician.

However 'Keith' wasn't done making things difficult for Yugi as he flipped over another of his face downs revealing it was Evil Ritual which forced all monsters on the field to switch their positions so Holy Knight Dragon turned to defence whilst Zera and Black Magician were forced into attack mode, that at least explained why 'Keith' had put Zera in defence mode before; the man wasted no time in having Zera attack Black Magician whose destruction would force Yugi into a perilous position.

"Now! Holy Barrier – Mirror Force!" Yugi declared. I let a sigh of relief rush out of me knowing that Yugi was going to be ok for this turn, however the rest of the air in my lungs swiftly followed it when 'Keith' proceeded to activate another Trap known as God's Pronouncement which allowed him to stop and destroy Mirror Force by paying half his Life Points so Black Magician was destroyed anyway.

'**Keith' – LP: 500 – LP: 250**

**Yugi – LP: 400 – LP: 100**

Despite the immense anxiety that must have been flooding through Yugi at this moment, he still pushed on as he reached out to his deck drawing a card free from it and then proceeding to play in face down in the Magic and Trap zone before summoning out a monster in order to defend himself once again, Yugi's face had lit up before playing that first face down meaning it was probably something that could help him win the match.

The thief waited a few minutes probably trying to come up with a plan before activating Tribute to the Dead – another rare card! – that would destroy Yugi's monster simply by discarding a card, I could see that Kylie was about to snap rather violently if this kept up for much longer, not that I blamed her in the least because all these rare cards were beginning to annoy me.

Naturally Yugi was horrified by this turn of events as well with 'Keith' going on to brag about the card he was activating, claiming it would be the end of Yugi; thanks to the card's effect, bandages appeared and began to fly out towards Yugi's face down monster however the worried look on the gentle boy's face slipped away, giving way to a calm one.

"Is that so?" Yugi questioned. As he did the boy reached out to his face down card and proceeded to flip it over revealing it was the Magic-Effect Arrow causing a cheer to erupt from my voice as Kylie smiled slightly at this turn since Magic-Effect Arrow was going to send those bandages flying right back at the thief's monsters and when those bandages bounced back, Yugi decided it was Zera who would be destroyed.

Suddenly – and so unexpectedly that it made me jump – the power of a Millennium Item that wasn't my Gauntlet activated within this building and the next thing any of us knew was that Keith was demanding to know why he was here, all three of us exchanged looks of confusion before Yugi turned back and lectured Keith's controller on using the rare cards too much.

"You're Yugi! What are **you** doing here?!" Keith questioned. However none of us could give the man an answer as Keith suddenly screamed in pain and he then began to question who was ordering him around which meant that the puppet master's control had been broken somehow and he or she was attempting to re-establish it.

Keith continued to freak out for a few more seconds before suddenly darting across the Duel arena to the Millennium Puzzle and, before any of us could stop him, that fool proceeded to smash the Puzzle against the podium it hung from causing small pieces to clatter against the ground causing a horrified expression to split across mine and Yugi's face whilst Kylie looked ready to tear Keith apart.

"YUGI-KUN!" Bakura's voice cried. We all looked up behind him to see the white haired boy sailing down towards the arena and smashing into Keith – who had begun to freak out again – thus sending him away, Kylie wasted no time as she jumped up onto the Duel Arena and sent a sharp kick into Keith's back sending him further away from us, we all then gathered by the shattered Puzzle.

"Can we fix the Puzzle?" I gently asked. The Puzzle was the only thing connecting Yugi and his other side so it needed to be repaired in order to establish that connection but more than that, it was clear the Puzzle was something Yugi treasured very much even without his other side being involved.

"I solved it once! I can solve it again!" Yugi declared. Bakura then added on that it was Yugi's responsibility to solve it as we gathered all of the pieces for the kind boy. "It took me eight years the first time to put it together. I don't know when I can see you again. Even if it takes me another seven years or even ten, I'll complete it," Yugi admitted. His determination to solve the Puzzle was a truly incredible thing so I settled my hand on his shoulder.

"Solving a puzzle the second time is easier and I'll help out," I affirmed. Yugi looked at me clearly surprised, but puzzles and games were my best skill set just like how technology and Duel Monsters was my sister's, here I could and I would help my friend, we set about collecting the fallen pieces of the ancient artefact.

Another surge of magic washed over us causing me and Kylie to exchange worried looks at the inherent evil hidden within the magic and our eyes unwillingly flittered to Bakura as he held out a piece that we had apparently missed during the collection, I didn't want to be suspicious of the boy but with a psychotic evil spirit capable of possessing him, being wary was absolutely necessary.

It was then that Bakura realised himself, me and Yugi were going to be late for school and he proceeded to climb down from the Duel Arena but dropped as a result, although he promised to cover for us by going on ahead, honestly I was surprised it had only been him that had showed up and I was worried about where the other three where, those arrows should have led them here rather quickly.

Kylie wrapped her hands around the metal spike and braced one of her feet against the podium and began to pull on it however the damned thing didn't even begin to budge no matter how hard Kylie pulled and she ended up letting go out of it whilst stumbling backwards although me and Yugi managed to catch her just in time.

"No good, I'm not strong enough on my own. Where are those two knuckleheads when you need them?" Kylie commented. She was most likely referring to Jounouchi and Honda when she asked that question but at least someone else had noticed that they weren't here yet, despite a sufficient amount of time having passed since we split from Anzu.

Looking back at the broken Puzzle, I saw that the spike had been jammed into the carabiner meaning we couldn't just open it and slide the remains of the Puzzle off and I was doubtful that me or Yugi could help her in the strength department and telekinesis was out since if a magic user couldn't do it physically then they couldn't do it mentally… magic has weird rules some times.

"Other Yugi looks pretty strong so I say we solve the Puzzle and I'm sure the two of you can get it out together," I suggested. Yugi and Kylie nodded their heads in agreement, however at the moment Keith began to freak out again causing Kylie to roll her eyes as banging sounds echoed, we all opted to ignore him and focus on restoring the Puzzle.

However that plan went right out the window in the next few moments when a rather loud explosion went off, this caused all three of us to jump and we whipped around to see that in his panic, that foolish man had clearly hit something which started a fire that would no doubt consume the entire building.

"That fool!" Kylie hissed. We couldn't stay for long in the fire but none of us had the strength to pull out the metal spike, so Kylie stepped in front of us and began to chant a spell as a silver light engulfed her with a shimmering veil soon following afterwards around us. "This bubble won't last long, we need to complete the Puzzle now," Kylie insisted.

Understanding the dangerous situation we were in, all three of us began to slowly put the cold metal pieces back together with me and Yugi helping Kylie to sort hers in, normally working on a Puzzle especially one so intricate would have been both relaxing and stimulating for me but given the waves of heat that occasionally brushed our backs I couldn't help the tension that coiled within my muscles.

Sweat was slowly beginning to pour down each of our faces and I could feel my breathing becoming much harder and heavier with every gasp that I took in as the roaring fire continued to eat away at the building, it certainly wouldn't be long before the bubble that was protecting us ended up shattering completely thanks to that infernal heat.

Then I heard voices calling out to the three of us so I looked back only to see that low and behold – and extremely late to boot – Jounouchi and Honda had finally arrived at the building, normally I would be yelling at them for such a fact but instead I opted to simply and rapidly wave my arms in air hoping to get their attention.

"Jounouchi! Honda! Over here!" I screamed. However right after I did, I bent over and began coughing rapidly at the dry heat that had rushed into my lungs, fortunately they had seen me and demanded that we had to get out of here now but Yugi stalwartly refused to leave the Puzzle behind as he inserted the last piece completing the Puzzle once more.

Yugi was so relieved by this action that he nearly collapsed to his knees as a result, this caused the two knuckleheads to try and pull him away but once more Yugi refused to leave without the Puzzle as he stubbornly held onto the object, seeing this fact Jounouchi tried to pull it out be he wasn't strong enough on his own either.

"Katherine take Yugi. Jounouchi, Honda, help me pull this thing out!" Kylie ordered. The young boy was passed into my arms as the three of them each took tight grips on the metal chain that was pierced by the spike in an attempt to pull it out after Honda secured Yugi's deck but the building was crumbling down around the five of us.

"We can't stay here much long!" Jounouchi exclaimed. The three let go and were breathing heavily but I knew we couldn't leave without the Puzzle so Kylie wrapped her hands around the ancient object and raised it up to her as a worried look twisted across her face no doubt thinking about our current predicament.

"Hey my king! Can you here me? We could use some of your help here gorgeous!" Kylie called. Suddenly her eyes widened before narrowing and she rushed over to seize a pipe that had been lying on the ground which she swiftly jammed through the hole of the spike. "Leverage! All three of us pull at once and the spike should come out!" Kylie explained.

I could only guess that Other Yugi had contacted her when she touched the Puzzle and given her that idea, the heat was making us all slightly delirious thus our brains weren't working properly but as he was unaffected, he was able to see the scenarios we couldn't; perks to being an ancient spirit locked inside an ancient item, you're unaffected by normal human weaknesses.

Both of the boys nodded their head and so they wrapped their hands around the pipe and pulled, finally wrenching the spike free allowing the Puzzle to fall with Kylie swiftly catching the object so that it wasn't smashed again after we'd just fixed it and I vaguely heard her voice ordering us to run like hell which none of us argued with.

Arms separated me and Yugi with us being lifted into those arms, whoever held me began to ran but the heat and fatigue were blurring my vision somewhat so I couldn't exactly see properly but I did hear Anzu's voice and then Jounouchi commenting on the bond that Yugi and his other side shared for the young boy to relentlessly hold onto the Puzzle inside a blazing fire.

_***Yu-Gi-Oh***_

"Yugi! I don't care about the bond you two have! Or the fact that the Puzzle is your treasure! Forcibly staying in a dangerous area for that object nearly got you killed! What would he say? I'm pretty sure the last thing he wants is for you to be hurt! So think next time Muto Yugi!" Kylie ranted. Her eyes burning like wild fire as her hands tightly gripped her hips in an efforted to restrain herself during the lecture.

After being rescued from the fire, all of us were transported to Domino Hospital for recovery with me and Yugi having blacked out at some point – magical healing can only go so far – and upon waking up the boy had immediately been pounced upon by Kylie who, despite her willingness to help, was absolutely livid at the young boy.

Yugi was clutching the Puzzle tightly to his chest as he stared wide eyed at my sister since he had never been the recipient of her anger despite having seen it on display a couple of time already in Duelist Kingdom before whilst Anzu stood behind Kylie shaking like a leaf, I was being used as a human shield by the two knuckleheads.

"Still that was pretty fast how we put it together. Even with two extra hands and another brain, beating eight years is pretty impressive," Kylie acknowledged. Having gotten her worries out of her system, my sister reverted to her normal persona as she dropped onto the bed with Anzu inching into the chair beside Yugi's bed although the two idiots still used me as a shield even when standing at the bedside.

"Yeah… it was almost like my other self was helping me put together the Puzzle. Thank you for your help as well Kylie-san, Katherine-chan," Yugi admitted. Kylie smiled and nodded her head in agreement no doubt thinking back to when she had touched the Puzzle and her mind had somehow connected to Other Yugi's in that instant.

"He helped us too, my mind had become delirious with heat so I couldn't think normally but he managed to snap me back by telling me what to do. He's the real hero in this situation," Kylie explained. Somehow this conversation resulted in Honda and Jounouchi getting into a fight about something before Yugi stopped them so their attention was diverted to the near death experience we'd just shared.

Although whilst the boys talked, I noticed that Anzu had seemed worried about something before she proceeded to brightened up and she offered to go and get drinks for us to which the others agreed so she left; however I soon stood to my feet and began to move after hers this caused the others to question my actions.

"I'll go help," I called out. Without waiting for a response I stepped out into the hallway seeing Anzu stopped in the middle of it so I stayed behind her. "Anzu, I know you're scared," I spoke up. The brunette girl immediately snapped around seeing me standing there with a rare serious expression on my features but I knew she had to speak.

"Perhaps it was what I wanted to believe, but I'd always assumed Other Yugi was like a split personality that existed within Yugi that the Millennium Puzzle just brought out but… is he really from the Millennium Puzzle," Anzu wondered. I couldn't believe that she though that way for a minute, perhaps magic did have the power to manifest another persona if one existed but could she really not see how different Other Yugi was to Yugi that made it obvious something was off about him.

"I don't know. Perhaps he is, if that's true then why has he been sealed inside of it. Did he do something horrible and it's punishment or is he protecting some great secret that mustn't be revealed to others. Perhaps finding the other Millennium Items hold the key to all of this," I admitted. Unwillingly my right hand lifted slightly so that I could glance at my Gauntlet but Anzu didn't catch it thankfully.

"Besides, Yugi is Yugi, there is no one else like him. This Other Yugi is someone else entirely, that I do know," I finished. With that I stepped back into the room and proceeded to sit on the chair Anzu had previously occupied as a smile stretched on to my lips at the animated discussion everyone was sharing in front of me.


	3. Chapter 3

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback.**

**I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 3: - Getting to Know You Better

It was a dull day, not in reference to any activities but more to the weather, ugly grey clouds covered the sky allowing cold rain to pour down onto the hapless souls that walked through it to reach their destination, schools would be finishing soon meaning Katherine would be back at home but I needed some time to myself.

My senses barely acknowledged the drops of rain that fell around me as I walked, even though an umbrella covered me to keep my form dry the lack of its' presence wouldn't have made any difference seeing as how deep in though I was, my mind was awhirl with the centre of my mental focus being the annoying dream I had last night

_***Yu-Gi-Oh**_

_Once more I was floating in the blackness of space, even after Duelist Kingdom these damned dreams still hadn't left me and I was getting just a little sick and tired of someone telling me about some destiny I had to face and not letting a single hint drop during these recurring episodes._

"_The time is coming Consort," The airy voice claimed. Unlike last time the voice wasn't broken and weak almost like, whatever it was, was gaining strength but I didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing and I was growing frustrated with its' cryptic messages._

"_Who are you? What do you want with me?" I screamed into the night. However instead of answering me a rush of hot air blast passed me forcing my arms to be raised but when they were finally lowered I found that I had some how ended up in a desert with a sprawling city just below me and behind it was a palace fit for a ruler._

_However the peacefulness of my surroundings was shattered when the sky suddenly darkened and three shadowy figure appeared before me; one was a massive towering humanoid shape easily stretching to the sky, another was long and serpentine in shape floating in the sky with ease and the third was a large winged creature with a semicircle above its' head, all three had glowing eyes that pierced into my form._

"_The time is coming Consort of the Pharaoh!" The airy voice announced. Floating down from the sky was a figure of light but just as with the shadows their appearance was completely blanked out except for the feminine shape and then I was forcibly awaken by the light again._

_***Yu-Gi-Oh***_

"lie-san! Kylie-san!" A voice cried. I jumped slightly not having been expecting the sudden voice so I swirled around to see that Yugi was standing behind me but without an umbrella so I immediately pulled the boy under my own so that he wouldn't get any more soaked than he already was. "Are you ok Kylie-san?" Yugi asked.

"I'm fine Yugi. Is there something you needed?" I asked. Since I had ranted at him in the hospital the young boy had been slightly skittish about me, I hadn't meant to make him feel afraid but I knew I had to put into perceptive how dangerously he'd been acting, so it was somewhat unexpected for the boy to call out to me.

"Are you free this weekend?" Yugi asked. It was such a sudden question that I had to pause briefly before nodding me head in confirmation that I didn't have anything planned. "You see my other self hasn't been acting like himself recently. He won't talk much to me either but I thought he'd feel better if he saw you, Kylie-san!" Yugi explained.

"Um… sure. We'll set up a meeting for the weekend," I responded. I was still a little thrown out by the suddenness of Yugi request and since I learned what it was about a blush was beginning to darken my face in response, Yugi took off to get back to his family's store in order to help his grandfather.

"Meet at Domino Station at ten o'clock in the morning on Sunday!" Yugi called back. I couldn't even get a response out to the boy as he disappeared from sight before I could respond to it, I don't know why but something about this whole scenario felt a little off due to its' randomness.

"Why do I have the strangest feeling that Yugi is up to something," I muttered. Yugi wasn't the kind of person to ask something with ulterior motives attached but that didn't stop the annoying voice in that back of my head arguing that something was somewhat wrong about all this.

_***Yu-Gi-Oh***_

"It's a date," Katherine sang. I don't know how or when my sister found out but she had – cheeky unassuming minx has her ways – and now she assumed it was a date thus leading to her relentlessly teasing me as I tried to get myself ready which was delaying me due to the aggravation she was forcing on me.

"It's not a date! I'm just meeting with Other Yugi to talk to him and help him feel better!" I snapped. My hair brush was slammed down on the dresser to display my annoyance before I whipped around seizing my handbag and I proceeded to leave the house but not quickly enough to escape one last tease from my sister about this being a date.

My feet carried me to the station subconsciously as I gently brushed my fingers through my mid-back red hair, I had chosen to wear a dark blue shirt with quarter length sleeves, a pair of knee length dark green shorts and some combat boots that just when above my ankles; my silver bracelet remained fixed to my arm and my deck rested at my hip, it had taken me some time to dress this morning but I think I looked alright.

'What the hell is wrong with me? It's not like me to evaluate my appearance and this isn't a date.' I thought. However it was at that moment that I heard a familiar voice complaining by demanding what the meaning of this was, I looked to see Other Yugi standing there looking down at the Millennium Puzzle and I couldn't help the laugh that escaped me causing him to look at me.

"Hello," Other Yugi greeted. I managed to quieten down my laughter and returned the greeting, the two of us headed to a nearby coffee shop and I took the time to look over my companion, he wore a sleeveless black top with black pants, black shoes with silver and gold bracelets around his wrists, a choker around his throat and the Millennium Puzzle as per usual.

We sat down at a table and ordered drinks but I noticed that, like Yugi had said, Other Yugi appeared to be distracted by something leading to nothing being exchanged between us which most definitely served to make the atmosphere awkward until an image flashed into my mind.

"Hey, I saw this earlier, I think we should check it out," I spoke up. Other Yugi turned his attention to me as I reached into my handbag pulling out a magazine which had been opened to a specific page which had a certain eye image photographed in it. "It's the Ancient Egypt exhibit being hosted at the museum here in Domino," I explained.

"Why do you want to go there?" Other Yugi asked. I lowered the magazine down and pointed to the photograph that was contained within the page making sure that he would be focused on it before I said anything in response to his question.

"Several reasons actually; this mark here is the same as on the Puzzle, Bakura also mentioned his father getting the Ring from Egypt and Shadi mentioned your memories hold knowledge connected to Ancient Egypt. I thought this would be helpful to understanding the Puzzle," I answered. However Other Yugi's face suddenly twisted as if he was thinking deeply about something. "What's wrong?" I asked concerned for him.

"It's just that he… he put these on in front of the mirror this morning. I didn't realise it was because of this, he hides his real self in order to fit in," Other Yugi admitted. It was obvious that he was thinking of Yugi and had glanced down at the bracelets that he wore whilst speaking, I smiled slightly and reach over to lay my hand over his causing him to look at me.

"Yugi is worried about **you**," I informed. Other Yugi claimed that there was no need for the young boy to worry about him going on to say he doesn't know what he wants himself and he was looking for who he really is, just like the ancient spirit before me was. "I've been meaning to ask… what's your name?" I questioned. This caused the spirit's eyes to widen as he looked down.

"Who am I? Where do I come from? I don't know how to find this out," Other Yugi lamented. His grip tightened on the coffee cup that he had in front of him and I felt my lips frown slightly at the distress that he must have been feeling from the lack of knowledge about who he could possibly be. "But that's just fine, it's fine the way I am now," Other Yugi continued on.

"No one knows who they really are, that's what life's all about. It's an adventure to find what you love, who you love, meet people who can shape you and who you can shape, whether it's good or bad. When death comes, if your content with yourself then you know who you are, you are you. No one can take that away, life is an experience and memories the recollection, who you are is determined by what you do," I spoke.

I had looked out the window during my speech but when I turned back I found that Other Yugi was smiling at me causing my cheeks to redden at the display since it wasn't something I had been expecting at the words that I'd spoken, confusion maybe but not a smile, this caused my eyes to flickered down to the cup that was held in my hands until another appeared over mine causing me to look up at Other Yugi.

"It looks like I was right, you are interesting Kylie. You can be impulsive and rash, cold and methodical or wise beyond your years. It makes me want to get to know you even more," Other Yugi admitted. His words only made the blush on my face worsen since it was kind of embarrassing, I suddenly stood up from my seat causing our hands to separate. "Kylie are you ok?" Other Yugi asked.

"Didn't I just say life's an experience right? So let's go live," I suggested. My companion smiled again and stood to his feet allowing the two of us to leave the coffee shop after paying them. "We'll go where we feel like and see what happens," I informed. Other Yugi nodded and so we began our exploration of the city to see what could be learned or enjoyed from the day surrounding us.

We went into a music store, the park and the cinema before Other Yugi came to a stop outside of a recently opened card shop which immediately caused him to brighten up nearly making me laugh since it was sweet to see Duel Monsters making him so happy, he bought some card packs and we left the shop with him opening them.

"Oh, this is good! Lightforce Sword huh?," Other Yugi examined. I leaned over to examine the Trap card that he had received in the pack and it was indeed Lightforce Sword, that Trap would be incredibly useful down the road due to the effect that it had

"This trap allows you to pierce one card in your opponent's hand preventing it from being used for three turns during the opponent's standby phase it reactivates," I explained. Other Yugi looked at me in surprise before I allowed a slightly cocky smile to spread across my face as we continued walking. "When he's not crazy there are perks to being Pegasus' niece," I explained. Pegasus almost always gave me and Katherine the new cards to try out first before they'd be distributed to the public.

"My partner's going to be thrilled!" Other Yugi admitted. I then suggested we go into a nearby arcade but before we could decide which games to play, loud music caught our attention and we headed over to some dancing game that had a large crowd around with, a man was dancing against a boy and he seemed to be the winner and quite popular with the crowd as they cheered for him.

The man had dark skin with black hair tied in dreadlocks, a red shirt and black pants tied with a brown belt, black shoes with one silver bracelet around his right wrist and two around his left, apparently this person was known as Steps Johnny who proceeded to turn around and, rather arrogantly, question who would be challenging him now.

"Hey baby? Want to battle me?" Johnny spoke. I saw that he was looking at me and felt my teeth grind together at the way he addressed me, flirtatious people or people who thought nicknames like that were appropriate, annoyed the hell out of me.

"There's no reason to face him," Other Yugi insisted. I knew that and I wasn't going to accept his challenge since there wasn't anything in it for me – apart from the opportunity to immensely humiliate the arrogant man – however at the same time, I never was one to turn down a challenge so I pulled my purse off and handed it to my companion.

"I know that but I don't like running from a challenge. Don't worry I'll be done in a minute," I answered. With that I stepped up onto the dance arena as the people around cheered me on whilst Johnny insisted that he wasn't going to hold back. "Do what you want, I'm not going to lose," I insisted. Those words were spoken without even a glance at the man.

"Is that so. In that case, come hang with me tonight if I win," Johnny suggested. Those words caused my head to snap towards him as I glared venomously at the man, that stipulation simply made me want to win even more. "Oh wait… that's what you were **really** after isn't it?" Johnny questioned. That caused my hands to ball up into fists as my teeth ground together.

"Sorry but the man I'm with currently is infinitely better company than you," I spat. I also jerked my thumb in Other Yugi's direction to be sure Johnny knew who I was talking about before I dropped my hand down. "Now shut up and dance! Before you piss me off even more!" I snapped. At that moment the music began to play on the game so I snapped my head to screen ready to follow the moves.

I allowed the music to wrap around me as I stepped to the beat, spinning when necessary to reach the next move as a small smile spread across my face as everyone talked about what they were seeing but I didn't pay attention to their words as I simply continued to dance to the music that was playing before me.

Unfortunately at one point Johnny threw his leg out so that it landed within my dance platform forcing me to jump up in order to avoid tripping but I didn't lose any momentum and continued the dance but that filthy cheater didn't stop then as he threw his hand back trying to push me but I managed to avoid the strike just in time and kept my dance going.

In the end despite his cheats, Johnny ended up flat on his back and I won the game causing the crowd to cheer, I turned around and smiled at Other Yugi who returned it to me; with our little misadventure over both of us left and walked over to a view of the river which reflected the fading light of the sun.

"That was a nice way to relax, took me back to my childhood," I admitted. Dancing wasn't something I was passionate about and instead enjoyed it as a hobby even since I was young so it was always good for me to allow myself to remember that feeling after so long of dueling.

"Childhood… I wonder about mine, who I met and who I shaped. What adventures I had?" Other Yugi wondered. He leaned forward against the railing of the view we stood on looking out over it with his crimson eyes. "I want to know more about myself… where I came from but if I keep things the way they're, I'll always be with him. He must want it this way too," Other Yugi admitted.

"All younger siblings want their big sibling to stay forever. It's a hard truth to swallow but one day I'm not going to be at Kathie's side anymore because she has her own dream and her own path to follow. The same can be said for you and Yugi, but for now as the older siblings it's our job to protect and nurture them the best we can whilst also being true to ourselves," I spoke up.

Sadly our peaceful time was interrupted when Johnny showed up and demanded that we have a duel this time refusing to leave us alone, I nearly laughed at this man again until he commented that my loss meant I'd have to be his girlfriend, an amateur like him couldn't beat me and we both knew it yet Other Yugi stepped up to take my place an angered look within his eyes.

Johnny was initially reluctant to accept but Other Yugi wouldn't back down so we found a Duel Arena for the two to have this battle out whilst I stood at the side barely interested since Other Yugi would win with ease; there was a brief debate about why Johnny danced which was for selfish reasons and this angered Other Yugi since it was something I enjoyed.

**Johnny – LP: 2000**

**Yugi – LP: 2000**

Johnny started off the duel by bringing out a monster known as Maiden in attack mode, the creature was weak in both attack and defence but defence make more sense since Johnny wouldn't have lost Life Points and he didn't play any face down cards… like I said, amateur.

**Maiden – Attribute: Earth, Type: Warrior, Level: 3, ATK/1200, DEF/900**

Other Yugi swiftly cemented this fact as he proceeded to bring out Elf Swordsman and automatically had the elven warrior strike down the female opposing his master and dealing an early blow to Johnny's Life Points with little difficulty.

**Johnny – LP: 2000 – LP: 1800**

**Elf Swordsman – Attribute: Earth, Type: Warrior, Level: 4, ATK/1400, DEF/1200**

Johnny wasn't fazed by this as he proceeded to draw his next card after complaining about the method of attack, he proceeded to summon out a creature known as Water Dancer in attack mode even calling it cute and baby whilst announcing this, I swear Andromeda shivered at those words whilst I shook my head.

**Water Dancer – Attribute: Water, Type: Aqua, Level: 4, ATK/1400, DEF/1200**

It allowed both me and Other Yugi to realise this was just a Fan Deck, one designed not to win but simply evolved from a player's own interest meaning that Johnny deck was concerned with dancing aspects and there probably wasn't any true balance to it although the fool was still confident in his deck.

Other Yugi passed his turn and so this allowed Johnny to bring out another monster which was Spirit of the Harp although this time in defence mode then he proceeded to play the Magicl card Chorus of Sanctuary which increased the defence points of all defending monsters by five hundred points

**Spirit of the Harp – Attribute: Light, Type: Angel, Level: 4, ATK/800, DEF/2000**

**Spirit of the Harp – DEF/2000 – DEF/2500**

Maybe Johnny wasn't as hopeless as I'd though since that move was actually quiet smart but I doubted that he'd actually win the duel as Other Yugi proceeded to summon out his Curse of Dragon during this turn probably having seen enough of Johnny by waiting.

**Curse of Dragon – Attribute: Dark, Type: Dragon, Level: 5, ATK/2000, DEF/1500**

Other Yugi immediately had his dragon attack and destroy Water Dancer thus leaving Johnny with only one monster on the field and depleting even more of his Life Points pushing Johnny even closer to defeat as his Life Points just stayed above the half way point.

**Johnny – LP: 1800 – LP: 1200**

The man berated himself for not defending with Water Dancer as well nearly making me smack something but he proceeded to get on with the duel by using Fusion to merge Witch of the Black Forest with High Priestess in order to summon out Musician King who attacked Celtic Guardian destroying it.

**Yugi – LP: 2000 – LP: 1650**

**Musician King – Attribute: Light, Type: Magician/Fusion, Level: 5, ATK/1750, DEF/1500**

Johnny bragged about his new monster even claiming he was looking forward to a night with me already which simply earned him a glare from me so he proceeded to lay a card face down on the field; Other Yugi continued the duel by having Curse of Dragon attack the Musician King.

However when the attack was launched, Johnny revealed his face down was the trap Metallisation – Magic-Reflection Armour which transformed Musician King into Heavy Metal King, causing the attack to rebound destroying Curse of Dragon.

**Yugi – LP: 1650 – LP: 1650**

**Heavy Metal King – Attribute: ?, Type: ?, Level: ?, ATK/2050, DEF/1700**

Johnny claimed Other Yugi had no monsters left on the field but Other Yugi swiftly shut him up by summoning out Giant Soldier of Stone in defence mode so that he could protect himself from any further assaults until he had a monster that could defeat the Heavy Metal King.

**Giant Soldier of Stone – Attribute: Earth, Type: Rock, Level: 3, ATK/1300, DEF/2000**

Johnny claimed that Other Yugi was only acting arrogant when he was rather weak and proceeded to have his Heavy Metal King attack Giant Soldier of Stone revealing the power increase by half of the opposing monster's attack points that the Trap gave to his monster during the damage calculation step even though it didn't inflict piercing damage.

Other Yugi wasn't going to back down as he proceeded to summon out Black Magician causing a smile to stretch across my face upon seeing the trust worthy spellcaster appearing, he would be strong enough to defeat Heavy Metal King and probably win the duel in the end.

**Black Magician – Attribute: Dark, Type: Magician, Level: 7, ATK/2500, DEF/2100**

The Magician attacked Heavy Metal King, Johnny believed Metallisation's increase would still work but Other Yugi swiftly revealed it only occurred if Heavy Metal King attacked, not the other way around so Black Magician destroying the musician and dropped Johnny's Life Points some more.

**Johnny – LP: 1200 – LP: 750**

"I don't believe it! Who are you? What's your name?!" Johnny demanded. It was almost ironic how he was only demanding those answers now instead of before the duel but apparently he knew Duel Monsters well enough to recognise Yugi's name when Other Yugi declared it to him. "The man who beat Pegasus in the Duelist Kingdom? **That** Yugi?" Johnny questioned.

Other Yugi dared him to continue the game but Johnny proved to be a coward as he immediately quit so I pushed off and walked around to his side stopping him from getting very far from the podium he had previously occupied as I glared at the man

"So just like the dance, the moment things get tough, you bail without hesitation. I wonder if you've ever tired hard at dancing or dueling to begin with," I stated. Johnny claimed I didn't know what I was talking about stating him being a pro was a faraway dream since he failed an audition **once**. "So what if you failed. **Everyone** fails, what matters most is getting up and trying again," I stated.

It would seem my words hit home as Johnny walked away from the arena but seemed to understand my words as he declared that he'd try again, Other Yugi joined me and decide to head for the Ancient Egyptian exhibit.


	4. Chapter 4

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback.**

**Thank you to grapejuice101 for your review, I will try to get more moments between Kylie and Yami in BUT that will only be if the situation allows it to occur, glad you enjoyed it though. I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 4: - Beginning of Battle City

"There are clues about my past here, I must go in here. But I feel like my heart's resisting me, like I'm afraid to learn the truth. But I made this decision after speaking to you Kylie. Who I am? Where I'm from? The answers are here! Let's go!" Other Yugi declared. Both me and him were currently standing outside of the Domino Museum, hoping this place held answers for us.

We walked into the building and began to explore the Egyptian exhibit but I couldn't see anything that might be important to Other Yugi's past although that could have been because I was primarily looking for anything Duel Monsters related since those were liable to hold the biggest clue for us… if they could actually be read, Gods I wish I had my mum's gift for languages.

Eventually our explorations led us to a roped off area but instead of moving passed it we both stopped for different reasons, what Other Yugi's reason was I had no clue but my reason was because my bracelet suddenly began glowing almost as if it was pulling me towards the stairs hidden behind the rope barrier.

"Does it do that often?" Other Yugi asked. He didn't seem surprised that my bracelet had suddenly started glowing but given that he lived inside of the Millennium Puzzle for who knows how many centuries magic wasn't something abnormal to him, I lifted my arm slightly allowing the bracelet to rest between us as I kept it pointed in the direction that caused the light to glow strongest which was passed the rope barrier and down the steps beyond it.

"No. It only reacts when near something of strong magic, like the Millennium Items. Normally I suppress the response but I allowed it to flow just in case it sensed anything," I responded. Seeing that something was definitely summoning us into the hidden room we moved around the rope barrier and headed down the stairs and into the basement which had been hidden from the public.

Within this hidden room was another exhibit however seeing this exhibit caused my eyes to widen in shock, it was a tablet etched with hieroglyphs however these hieroglyphs were very peculiar in that they displayed two people standing across from each other with a hand held out, above them were creatures, one had a humanoid figure with a sceptre whilst the other had a draconic beast.

However even more shocking was that further above them were three other monsters, one a humanoid shape, a second was a serpent shaped dragon and the last was a winged beast like a griffin but these three surrounded the Millennium Puzzle with a smaller version hanging from the neck of the person who appeared to be the master of the spellcaster depicted in this fight.

"Other Yugi… either I'm seeing things… or that pharaoh on the tablet… is you!" I exclaimed. My companion did not respond to me as he stared at the tablet that lay before us clearly deeply immersed in the revelation that this image had brought to us. "**That is** the Millennium Puzzle on the tablet," I insisted. Other Yugi raised his hand to wrap around the object that was so important to him and the young boy who hosted him.

"Kylie, I've just realised who I am. The soul of an Ancient Egyptian king who was trapped in the Millennium Puzzle for thousands of years. **That** is who I really am," Other Yugi answered. This revelation of his original homeland wasn't entirely shocking since it had been a suspicion dwelling in my mind for some time however I never would have guessed that the ancient spirit was actually a pharaoh of all things.

'The time is coming Consort of the Pharaoh!' That airy voice echoed from within my thoughts. I nearly shook my head to dispel that particular line of thought but decided against it since Other Yugi would be confused by my actions, there couldn't be any connection between this discovery and my weird as hell dreams.

"That's great and all but a name would be better. It'd at least narrow the timeline of Egypt's past down to… a dynasty or something!" I snapped. My words were annoyed but only because of how annoying these turn of events had taken so suddenly and the fact that my dreams weren't helping in that regards.

"I have been waiting for you," A voice greeted from behind. The voice was feminine and light in speech but the fact that someone else was here surprised both of us causing me and Other Yugi whipped around to see the individual walking towards us proving that it was a woman who was at least twenty years old at least, one couldn't always judge by appearances.

The woman has long straight black hair that trailed just below her shoulders and featured two locks which were wrapped in gold rings coming from behind her ears and continuing in front, stopping at her neck, she had a slender build with tanned skin, her outfit consisted of a long ankle length dress partially bearing her shoulders with the dress featuring black patterns around the neck and the rims of the sleeves. However the most interesting fact was that her jewellery consisted of a gold piece of headwear circling her head and featuring an emerald where it met at the front and around her neck was a golden chain attached to a familiar eye.

"Who are you?" Other Yugi asked. It was a reasonable question after all anyone who had been expecting us and held a potential Millennium Item wasn't someone we wanted to be in the dark about especially since this person could have been the one that manipulated Keith into attacking Yugi the other day.

"I am Ishizu Ishtar. For three thousand years, I have protected a piece of the Pharaoh's memories," The woman responded. The Item she wore seemed to glow at those words causing Other Yugi to finally process its' presence surprising him. "This Millennium Tauk grants the power to see into the near future, I knew you would be coming here and I knew a great battle would soon be waged in this town. Yes, you came here yourself, you chose your destiny of battle," Ishizu continued on.

"Destiny of battle?" Other Yugi questioned. Ishizu went on to explain that in order for Other Yugi to regain his memories then he had to gather the eight Millennium Items. "Tell me something first! Are you an ally? Or an enemy?!" Other Yugi questioned. Ishizu claimed she was our ally but saw that the enemy would soon appear before us was carrying the last Millennium Item. "The last Millennium Item?" Other Yugi repeated.

"And that battle… will be a battle to regain your memory. You'll understand when you leave today, for it is there that you will choose your own destiny," Ishizu explained. She then turned and began to walk away from us but Other Yugi called out to her questioning the woman once again. "The rest is something you must find out for yourself," Ishizu responded. With those words she finally left the room.

"Well, everything just got a whole lot more confusing," I admitted. Other Yugi turned back to stare at the tablet clearly thinking deeply about what we had learned it was then that I noticed the other person on the tablet that opposed the Other Yugi-look alike Pharaoh actually appeared to resemble Seto causing my eyes to widen. "Either this is fate playing a twisted joke or that's some real cosmic irony," I commented whilst gesturing at the Seto look alike.

"Yes it is rather strange that this tablet predicts our battles," Other Yugi responded. My eyes flickered to the top of the tablet to look at the three creatures displayed there and I couldn't help but focus on them more intently, something about those three creatures seemed extremely familiar to me but I couldn't figure out why.

"Look… I'm getting tired of calling you Other Yugi and you have no name so can I give you one?" I asked. Other Yugi turned to look at me rather surprised by me question but he inclined his head in agreement with my request causing me to smile. "Alright, since you're kind of like the dark part of Yugi's heart, I'll call you… Yami," I admitted.

"Yami… I like it," Oth-Yami responded. The slightest of smiles appeared on his face, it was nice to hear that he had taken a liking to my nickname for him and I was quite fond of it myself, plus at least this way I could differentiate between him and Yugi when speaking to them; with that done I returned my attention to the three monsters at the top of the tablet.

"I feel like I know those three," I muttered. My hand reached up to the three creatures that rest at the top however the moment my hand neared them a severe pain – almost like several drills burrowing into my skull simultaneously – appeared causing me to go stumbling backwards as I let out a silent scream of pain whilst clutching my head in my hands nearly gouging into my brain as images flashes across my mind.

_***Yu-Gi-Oh***_

_Sprawling desert, a beautiful city, people living easy lives, the palace where the guardians and royalty lived, monsters – Duel Monsters – were sealed in stone tablets as a man sat upon a throne, his face shrouded by shadows but the Millennium Puzzle hanging from his neck made it clear who he was, the Pharaoh identical to Yami._

_Growling sounds then came from around me and I looked arouns, this allowed me to see that it was those same three shadows from my dream the other night writhing around the Pharaoh who walked towards me yet the shadows never once left his face even as he knelt down in front of me and extended a hand towards me._

_I didn't know what to think or what to do, everything was biting into me deeply and painfully because there was something deeply troubling about this whole scenario but then shaking occurred as a voice called me away from this jumbled vision._

_***Yu-Gi-Oh***_

"Ok… I'm really… beginning to hate… premonitions of doom," I wheezed. Yami was cradling me in his arms looking down at me rather worried from the conflict swimming in his piercing red eyes, I weakly gripped his shoulder and lifted myself up so that we were both kneeling on the floor although I felt like being sick.

"Kylie what happened to you?" Yami asked. I didn't blame him for being concerned about what had just hit me but I didn't really know what had just hit me myself, except for the fact that it was a premonition of some sort related to those three creatures; I normally didn't get them as that was Katherine's department and hers' was normally right but fixable if bad things were to happen.

"I haven't a damned clue except for the fact it involves those three creatures at the top and you. They're connected to you somehow," I explained. Unfortunately my head still felt like it had been put through a blender causing me to groan as I massaged my temples. "Bloody visions… one side effect of powerful magical blood, unwelcomed warnings of doom that rip your brain to shreds," I groaned.

With those words out I proceeded to push myself to my feet although they were slightly unsteady underneath me but I managed to stay standing with some help from Yami to make sure that I didn't immediately keel over again from the way that my body was swaying but soon I regained enough strength to stand up straight.

"Alright with this little visit and warning of war over, how about we get something to eat. Heaven and Hell knows, I need it," I suggested. Yami nodded his head and so we proceeded to leave the room that had revealed a whole different side of the ancient spirit at my side, some time I think the universe loves screwing with my family in some way every generation.

Outside night had truly fallen and the cool refreshing breeze that brushed over us soothed my instantly causing a smile to stretch across my face feeling just a little relieved that this was at least put off for a short time until another vision decided to damn my mind to more pain with jumbled warnings or my creepy dreams cropped up again.

Suddenly a dizzy feeling overcame me as a cry or a roar perhaps, echoed within my mind causing me to stumble in my walk; fortunately strong hands latched onto my shoulders thus preventing my body from hitting the floor but it didn't help as I still felt like my head had been stuffed with cotton wool, a blasted side effect that came with visions.

"Kylie are you ok?" Yami asked. I nodded my head somewhat weakly before the cotton feeling faded away to free up my mind letting me stand up straight, I wondered what could have caused such a strange feeling to wash over me all of a sudden that would cause me to stumble. "Kylie…," Yami spoke up. I looked at the spirit seeing that he had a serious look on his face.

"My partner doesn't know I came here to see the stone slab today, I don't want you to tell him about the stone or what Ishizu said. I want to get my memory back and my partner knows what that means, I don't want him to worry about me yet. We created this deck together, half of it is the work of his soul, the day he understands who I am… will be the day this deck will display its' true power," Yami insisted.

"I understand that but… he's going to find out someday, whether it's through you or me or even my little sister – because she'll find out somehow – he'll know and you'll have to face up to that scenario. As for the power of this deck, I'm sure that day will come if it hasn't appeared already," I insisted. Yami looked at me and nodded his head in understanding at my words.

Suddenly a rather hostile aura appeared in the area and Yami sensed it as well causing both of us to look around but we couldn't identify the source of the hostile feeling which was rather confusing although our confusion was soon erased when a familiar voice called out behind us so we turned and found Mai Kujaku running towards us.

"Long time, no see! How you doing?" Mai asked. I commented that the blonde vixen seemed to be doing fine but then the woman pulled me close via my shoulders and gave a wicked grin down at me as if something sinister was brewing inside her mind. "Hey, hey Kylie, a date with Yugi, Katherine might get jealousy," Mai whispered.

Roughly a minute passed for those words to process through my mind but once the words did click together, I immediately proceeded to twist out of the blonde vixen's grip before spinning around and jabbing my finger pointily in front of her nose causing the woman to look at it cross eyed as a snarl appeared on my face alongside a bright red blush.

"**It. Isn't. A. Date**," I growled, enforcing each word. I felt Yami's entertained crimson eyes watching the exchange but he proceeded to cut in on our little disagreement by asking what Mai could possibly be doing here so I dropped my finger so that Mai could focus on the man standing in our presence without feeling threatened by me.

"You two are here and don't even know. Someone told me I could find my future here," Mai commented. That caught our attention given the little bit of information concerning the future we'd just received from Ishizu only earlier. "A few days ago, some news got out on the internet. Go to where the ancient duelists and their card engravings rest, some kind of message. The date is today and the time is right now, they're supposed to announce a huge duel tournament here," Mai explained.

"Seto! You son of a bitch! This is why you rushed the latest Duel Disc production!" I hissed. Both of them immediately turned to face me as I raked my hands through my hair before turning to face where the hostile aura was coming from. "That at least explains the hostile aura, old rivals are here to dance," I commented.

Mai agreed and as we all looked within the crowd of gathered duelists I spotted Haga and Ryuzaki along with Ryota Kajiki; I also noticed that a duelists who possessed 'special abilities' was also present, he was a young boy known as Esper Roba but I doubted the legitimacy of his powers until I faced him in a duel, I kept looking around before my eyes zeroed in on the person who had stressed me out in the last few days.

"Knew it!" I spat. Mai and Yami looked at me confused by my words so I pointed my finger upwards to answer their confusion, it was directed at a large screen that rested on the building right in front of us allowing them to see the smug face of Seto Kaiba plastered on the screen, then it wasn't long before Seto's face became visible on multiple screen away from our position.

"Fellow duelists, listen carefully… in one week in this very town, Kaiba Corporation will host a Duel Monsters tournament! Duelists must meet two prerequisites, they must have a deck of at least forty cards, including one rare card and they must be in possession of this new Duel Disc," Seto explained. At those last words the screen flashed down to reveal the new Duel Disc.

Unlike the previous one that he had used, this Duel Disc was completely attached to the arm instead of split in two with the card projection system being in a line and it was now connected to the Life Point counter and Deck holder, I knew that around the arm lock were mobile Solid Vision projectors allowing more ease of access to dueling; Seto was explaining all this as I thought it.

Seto continued by explaining the rules we played by would be the Battle City rules and the loser had to give up their rarest card to the winner which actually made some people cheer whilst I frowned at this, a tournament that made the ante rule mandatory hadn't been done before so I was curious as to what Seto had to be up to by making this mandatory rule, he never did anything without an ulterior motive.

It was then that a harsh wind was whipped up and began to blow through the area which rustled my hair so I proceeded to turn around and look up into the sky along with everyone else who was gathered seeing that Seto was standing slightly out and slightly in of a helicopter which hovered above the gathered duelists.

"The stage of battle will be all of Domino City! In one week, this town will become a Battle City!" Seto declared. His left arm raising into the air as he spoke those words yet a sense of foreboding landed upon me at this declaration along with the words of my dream and Ishizu's warning swam together like a storm of locusts inside my mind.


	5. Chapter 5

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback.**

**Thank you to the Guest for the review on The Coming of Shadows and I can agree with your sentiments, as for the Guest review on Battle of Destiny Begins, yes I know Tea Gardner and Anzu Mazaki are the same person, what's the point to your comment. I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 5: - Clash! Battle City Begins!

"Battle City? That means tomorrow, Domino City will become a Duel Monsters battle arena?" Jounouchi asked. We were gathered at school and it had been nearly twenty four hours since Kylie and Other Yugi's non-date along with the revelation of Seto's tournament, I had been at the meeting place but now we were discussing it with the rest of the group.

Jounouchi claimed it was unfair for Kaiba to have forgotten to invite him since he had tied for third place in Duelist Kingdom, this started up a disagreement between Honda and Jounouchi as Shizuka's surgery was scheduled for tomorrow as well although the discussion soon turned back to Battle City as Yugi mentioned the Ante Rule which Jounouchi didn't understand.

"Good grief Jounouchi, you played under it against Ryuzaki during Duelist Kingdom. Basically you bet or ante cards with the winner getting those cards, in this case it's your rarest card which is technically your Red-Eyes and Yugi's Dark Magician," I explained. Jounouchi freaked out for a moment since he realised the stakes if he did lose but the knucklehead bounced back quickly.

Yugi then recalled the other requirement we needed and mentioned it to Jounouchi revealing he needed to get the new Duel Disc in order to participate however this caused Jounouchi to be sent stone still, probably recalling the time when Seto had used the previous Duel Disc to thoroughly humiliate him some time ago.

"Don't worry, Kylie can give us a run through. It's technically a collaboration between her and Seto this time around so she knows how it works," I reassured. Jounouchi responded to my works with some enthusiasm and immediately suggested we go and buy it right away causing Anzu and Honda to follow him which left me and Yugi alone on the roof. "So… how'd the date go?" I asked.

Yugi looked at me with a smile blossoming on his face, what neither Other Yugi or Kylie knew was that it had been my idea to set them up on a date, Other Yugi had seemed down and I'd noticed how interested by Kylie he was also Kylie could be pretty good at giving advice and she was definitely interested in the ancient spirit so me and Yugi came up with this plan on impulse.

"Really good, the Other Me seems to be feeling much better although he's holding something back from me," Yugi admitted. I was glad to hear the spirit was feeling better but knowing he was keeping an secret from Yugi was unsettling since Kylie seemed to be doing the same to me. "We'd best catch up with the others," Yugi suggested.

I nodded my head so we head down and found the three nearly out the school gates by the time we caught them, we continued further into Domino looking for the card shop that had opened up recently, whilst looking we ended up running into my sister who was heading to get her own Duel Disc so she guided us to its' location.

"Hey Yugi, how's Yami doing?" Kylie asked. Everyone paused and looked at my sister wondering who the heck she could have been talking about causing her to shyly smile which caused me to lightly pinch my cheeks as I momentarily wondered if this was a dream, nothing changed so I assumed I was awake. "I got tired of calling him Other Yugi and he's got no name so I gave him the name Yami," Kylie revealed. Well at least **someone** thought of it, the ancient spirit must have been appreciative of something else to identify him by or maybe by having a name in general.

"He's doing quite alright, the Other Me seems to have regained his spirit. Thank you for yesterday Kylie-san," Yugi responded. My sister nodded her head and so we continued on until we reached the card shop but I noticed Kylie had a contemplative look on her face although Yugi did mention his surprise that his other side would agree to the Ante Rule due to his lack of interest in rare cards or risking their own.

"Perhaps there's some other reason he's entering the tournament," I suggested. Yugi nodded his head in understanding and then pointed out we had arrived at the card shop so ducked inside the store with the owner admitting many people like us had been coming in lately so he asked for our name which Kylie offered first.

As it turned out Kaiba Corporation had the entire country's duel data already logged assigning them a level and the rare cards they possessed with Genbu being displayed for Kylie, apparently duelists whose level was five or above got the Duel Disc for free and since Kylie was level seven she didn't need to pay, this continued for me and Yugi with our levels being six and eight respectively.

Unfortunately when Jounouchi got brought up his level was only two and had nobody attached to it thus enraging him so we quickly attempted to calm him down but the store owner suddenly called out to us revealing Jounouchi was actually a level five duelist causing my eyebrows to furrow together in confusion when the owner claimed it was a system malfunction that had caused the incorrect level display.

With our business concluded we proceeded to leave the store and since it was late, we agreed to meet up tomorrow for Shizuka's operation with Jounouchi heading directly for the hospital but for now we departed from each other's company.

_***Yu-Gi-Oh***_

Unfortunately the next day Kylie received a rather frantic call from Yugi who barely managed to get out that Jounouchi hadn't turned up at the hospital last night so that immediately got us meeting up with the others and we knew that we had to search through the city for the blonde boy before something bad happened to him.

To make things worse, we found out that Shizuka refused to have the operation done without her brother there for her and if they didn't start the operation by noon at the latest then it wouldn't be done because the doctor had to get over to America in order to operate on someone this night so that meant we had literally no time at all to find Jounouchi.

Honda had thought ahead of the rest of us and had borrowed a motorbike from an upperclassman of ours in order to sweep the streets faster, meanwhile Kylie was sat on a bench rapidly typing away on her laptop clearly connected to either the Kaiba Corporations or Hope Industries satellites searching for a sign of Jounouchi's duel disk to make the search easier for us.

"Got it! His Duel Disc beacon was located near the eastern edge of Domino, narrowing the search radius would take too long so search the surrounding area of the coastline first!" Kylie ordered. Honda nodded and took off on his bike since he could search it quicker so the rest of proceeded to take off searching closer areas to the card shop and hospital just in case he was there and the Duel Disk had been stolen after we split up yesterday.

Thankfully we soon learned that Jounouchi had been found by Honda and both of them went speeding off towards the hospital so the rest of us proceeded to bunk down at Yugi's home waiting for any message from the hospital about how everything had turned out with Kylie filling me and Yugi in on the new rules of Battle City in order to distract from our worries.

Later that afternoon we got the call that confirmed the surgery was a success but something Jounouchi said must have troubled Yugi because his face took on a classic worried look which unsettled me greatly… something sinister was coming for us, I could feel it in my bones.

_***Yu-Gi-Oh***_

The day for Battle City had dawned with myself and Kylie preparing ourselves despite having spent the entire night doing the same thing, I guess the sinister feeling prevented us from being able to properly drift off although I suspected that Kylie had another reason since she often seemed deep in thought and not all of it wasn't about her cards.

Even though I knew this, I didn't press my sister for answers since if she wanted to open up to me then I would let her do it at her own pace; I folded my deck together and slipped it into the deck holster before proceeding to get myself dressed in a silvery-blue mid-calf length short sleeved dress with navy blue tights and silver canvas shoes with the black belt of my deck holster wrapping around my waist.

Kylie was wearing a dark purple shirt with a dark fairy design on it, black jeans and purple trainers with her deck holster secured to her jeans already, she folded her cards together and slipped the deck in the pouch before standing up and attaching the newest Duel Disc to her left arm, she then turned to look at me seeing that I was already done.

"You ready Katherine?" Kylie asked. It was a redundant question but I still nodded my head in response as I slipped a silver cardigan onto my form and strapped my Duel Disc onto my left arm whilst making sure that the sleeve covered up my Millennium Gauntlet but I stopped moving as a tingle rose in my mind from the connection between me and Yugi.

"_Katherine, I've just learned that Battle City is a battle for the Other Me to find himself_," Yugi informed. My eyes widened at this new piece of information as Kylie looked at my confused before I turned to look at her with uncertainty shining in my eyes as I nervously bit my bottom lip before looking at my sister who kept a steady gaze on me.

"Yugi just told me about the hidden agenda of this tournament," I explained. Kylie let out a sigh – whether of relief or reluctance, I didn't know – but she nodded her head in understanding and so the two of us proceeded to leave our house and head to the starting place, the Duel Disc had come with a strange glass plate with a section of Domino City's map on it but neither of us could figure out what it was for except as part of a puzzle.

We met up with Yugi at the starting point with Mai soon joining us and upon hearing that Jounouchi was going to be participating, the blonde woman got rather excited causing Kylie to raise an eyebrow in response but then Haga and Ryuzaki showed up to ruin our day swearing revenge against the two boys for Duelist Kingdom, fortunately they were distracted by Kajiki coming over starting an argument about which of their decks was the best.

"Make a break for it whilst we can," Kylie insisted. Fortunately we didn't have to flee as those three soon broke away from us themselves with Mai also going but promised to see all of us at the finals. "Once this starts, we'll break off as well separately, it's easier to find opponents in a large area alone," Kylie admitted. We had discussed this last night but I still felt uncertain about being along during my duels

"My fellow duelists, welcome to Battle City!" Seto's voice echoed. The duelists proceeded to look around wondering where the CEO's voice could have come from however Kylie soon raised her finger pointing it to the sky causing me and Yugi to turn our heads in that direction seeing a massive blimp with Seto's face projected via a television strapped to it.

Seto went onto explain that everyone here had been chosen by Kaiba Corporation as having a Level of five or higher, if two duelists came face to face then they had to fight no matter where you were in the city with each deck holding forty cards including at least one rare card that would be anted during the duel with only twelve being allowed to move onto the finals but it was hidden somewhere in the city and would only be shown by gathering six of the glass plates which were known as Puzzle Cards and also won during duels.

With that Battle City had officially began but before the three of us could split up we all spotted Jounouchi on the street level with a determined look on his face as he seemed to be searching for someone, sensing that trouble was coming we proceeded to race down to the street and found Jounouchi yelling at a gaunt white-haired individual wearing a cloak and a Duel Disc on his arm.

"Yugi, Kylie, Katherine. This bastard stole my Red-Eyes," Jounouchi accused. From his outfit I realised who he was, this guy had to be a Ghoul meaning he was a member of a crime syndicate who controlled the Gaming Underworld and used any means necessary to gain rare cards and they were the suspects in the robbery of the other Guardians. "Guys! Don't try and fight this bastard!" Jounouchi insisted as he ran in front of us.

The Ghoul rose from his seat and closed the lid of his laptop asking if Jounouchi wanted to face him despite having already lost Red-Eyes to him but because of that single fact the Ghoul refused to face off against Jounouchi but he then openly challenge Yugi to face him in a duel although Jounouchi protested the fact.

"No. I accept this duel," Yugi insisted. Jounouchi looked ready to protest once again however Yugi refused as he spoke about how we duelists put our life into our cards and the people who tried to steal them, then the Millennium Puzzle activated allowing Yami to emerge as he finished Yugi's sentence about refusing to forgive the thieves.

Jounouchi began to explain what the Ghoul's dueling strategy was but Yami stopped him by insisting that no matter what cheap tricks might be used, it simply wasn't fair for him to know his opponent's strategy before a game, the Ghoul stepped forward and pulled his cloak off insisting that Yugi was going to fall into despair after losing his rare card but Yami wasn't fazed in the least.

**Seeker – LP: 4000**

**Yugi – LP: 4000**

Yami began the duel by drawing a card from his deck, I noticed that Jounouchi seemed extremely desperate to say something about the Ghoul's strategy but it would be against Yami's wishes if he actually did so, Yami then set two cards face down and proceeded to summon out Magnet Warrior Beta before ending his turn.

**Magnet Warrior β – Attribute: Earth, Type: Rock, Level: 4, ATK/1700, DEF/1600**

The Ghoul started his turn by activating Angel's Charity allowing him to draw three cards from his deck whilst discarding two, he looked at the cards analysing what moves he could make with the cards that he had drawn however Yami took the opportunity to activate his face down Trap, Holy Radiance, which prevented either player from setting any cards in face down defence mode.

"Useless effort," Seeker mocked. He then proceeded to remove a card from his hand and summoned it out onto the field in defence mode but thanks to Yami's Trap it had to be face up allowing us to see the monster's identity. "Stone Statue of the Aztecs in defence mode," Seeker announced. The stone statue monster was projected and I was a touch unsettled since it had a fairly high defence power.

**Stone Statue of the Aztecs – Attribute: Earth, Type: Rock, Level: 4, ATK/300, DEF/2000**

With that Stone Statue out, its' defence power prevented Yami from making any attack since it was too powerful for Yami's current monster to overcome, so the ancient spirit proceeded to Release – a new rule were in order to summon out any normal Level Five or above monsters then the controller had to sacrifice one or more lower level monsters – his Magnet Warrior in order to summon out Baphomet in attack mode.

**Baphomet – Attribute: Dark, Type: Demon, Level: 5, ATK/1400, DEF/1800**

"Next, I use Baphomet's effect to call Gazelle to the field," Yami announced. A red beam of light was emitted from Baphomet's mouth in response to Yami's proclamation which allowed the newest monster to emerge onto the field and I allowed a smile to quirk at my lips since I had an idea about where this play was going.

**Phantom Beast King Gazelle – Attribute: Earth, Type: Beast, Level: 4, ATK/1500, DEF/1200**

"Also set card open! I use the Fusion card to fuse the two monsters together," Yami continued. The Magic card lifted up and activated its' magic pulling the two monsters together into a swirl before they emerged as a brand new creature known as Chimera the Winged Phantom Beast.

**Chimera the Winged Phantom Beast – Attribute: Wind, Type: Beast/Fusion, Level: 6, ATK/2100, DEF/1800**

However due to another new rule that was put into play, Fusion monsters weren't allowed to attack on the turn that it had been summoned so that meant the Stone Statue opposing the ancient spirit would be around for another turn as such Yami proceeded to end his turn turning this duel over to the creepy Ghoul.

The plan was quite a suitable one however one look at Jounouchi's expression made it clear that he was deeply worried about whatever strategy the Ghoul had in motion, so I proceeded to tug on the blonde's shirt causing him to look down at me which let him see the concerned look that was twisting across my face.

"What's wrong Jounouchi?" I quietly asked. Jounouchi looked at the duel before looking at me his mouth opening and closing as he tried to process whether or not he should tell me which would risk Yami overhearing him – since the blonde wasn't exactly the quiet type – thus breaking the promise that the blonde had made to his friend.

It also didn't help that Yami's opponent had a creepily pleased expression plastered on his face as he glanced down at his cards, he then drew a card from his deck and proceeded to activate another Angel's Charity causing my eyebrows to furrow together whilst Kylie clicked her tongue against her teeth as she shifted her weight slightly.

"What the hell… he changed cards again. That's a very weird style of play," Kylie commented. It was at this point that the Ghoul proceeded to summon out Gear Golem the Moving Fortress in defence mode once again. "Again with the defending… something's wrong here, it's almost… like he's… delaying the game," Kylie spoke. However as she did her eyes widened and it seemed something had finally clicked in her mind about what he was up to.

**Gear Golem the Moving Fortress – Attribute: Earth, Type: Rock, Level: 4, ATK/800, DEF/2200**

'Wait delaying the game via defending and using cards to draw multiple times… what monster could benefit from such moves. The only one I can think of is… oh Mother of Mana!' I thought. During my contemplation I had stumbled on the same thing that my sister must have as my head snapped back to the duel in a panic at my realisation.

Yami wasn't making any moves probably contemplating his opponent's moves just like we had been, at that moment Jounouchi ran forward calling out to the tri-coloured haired spirit clearly having got tired of not being able to help when he could, Yami looked over at the blonde boy as Jounouchi claimed that Yami was fighting in a rigged duel.

"That's where you're wrong, Jounouchi-kun. I will continue fighting fairly until the end, to defeat him! A true duelist, no matter what the opponent is like must not underestimate," Yami explained. This caused Jounouchi to freeze in revealing what the Ghoul could possibly be up to seeing the determination of his friend. "Jounouchi-kun, for you I **will** win!" Yami declared.

Yami recalled a time when Jounouchi had risked his life for Yugi's cards without any concern for himself and now Yami could repay him however right after finishing that Yami's eyes widened for a moment before closing as a smirk came to rest on his face causing me to smile whilst Kylie grinned… he had figured out the secret behind the Ghoul's strategy.

"I already saw through your plans!" Yami announced. The Ghoul seemed shocked by this development as Yami turned back to face his opponent with a fierce look in his eyes. "I won't let you summon Exodia!" Yami declared.


	6. Chapter 6

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback.**

Chapter 6: - Comeback! Chain Destruction

Admittedly I did breathe a sigh of relief upon hearing that Yami had figured out what this damned Ghoul was up to and once Yami won then Kylie would no doubt be going to grill this man about details concerning what happened to her missing Guardians; I could already feel the chill of Genbu seeping out of her deck in the hope of finally receiving some answers.

However the Ghoul proceeded to laugh admitting that he was impressed that Yami had figured out his strategy but the look on his face made me suspicious, either Seeker was extremely cocky and believed Yami couldn't stop him from completing Exodia even though that was actually an easy feat if one thought about it, or he had some kind of plan.

For just a second it looked like the man's eyes gleamed in the light causing my eyebrows to furrow at this, glancing at Athena for confirmation my Duel Spirit nodded her head, I then felt Kylie nudge my foot with her own in order to get my attention; in response I inclined my head in a brief nod, it would be enough to reassure her that she wasn't losing her mind and it caused Kylie to grit her teeth together at our mutual understanding but saying something wouldn't help the situation.

Yami proceeded to set a card face down then commanded his Chimera to attack the creature guarding Seeker enabling it to be destroyed thus reducing Seeker's defence, but with no other moves Yami ended his turn however this caused Seeker to start gloating about Yami only being capable of destroying his defending monsters and so reached out a hand to draw the top card of his deck.

"Trap Card! Activate!" Yami declared. This froze the obnoxious Ghoul whose expression twisted from glee to shock in a few seconds causing a smirk to pull at Kylie's lips. "Time Seal! This skips your draw phase," Yami explained. The Ghoul did not look pleased to hear those words implying whatever plan he had resided in the top card of his deck, by playing that trap Yami had bought himself one turn to dispose of that card or a card in the Ghoul's hand.

Both Jounouchi and myself exhaled in relief at the ancient spirit's move but he wasn't out of the woods yet and a lot was riding on this duel, not just the knuckled-headed blonde's precious Red-Eyes but the answers Yami desperately needed were waiting in Battle City further along, plus if we had to deal with some psycho like Dark Bakura I wanted the ancient spirit fighting with us.

Seeker ended his turn so Yami took his turn pulling a card from the top of his deck revealing that it was Lightforce Sword nearly making me cheer at the fact that Yami and Yugi's deck was supporting both of their masters in this battle right from the start, although I did excitedly clapped my hands together as Yami explained the card's banishing effects.

Yami activated the trap but now all we needed was for the glowing sword to strike a peace of Exodia; it flew forward on Yami's command striking the second card from the left in Seeker's hand and the image that was projected from the impaled card turned out to be a Right Arm of the Forbidden One and so with the threat of imminent defeat removed, Yami summoned Demon's Summon on to the field by sacrificing his Chimera.

**Demon's Summon – Attribute: Dark, Type: Demon, Level: 6, ATK/2500, DEF/1200**

Using his new monster Yami proceeded to destroy Seeker's last line of defence causing Jounouchi to cheer him on, Seeker drew his card but didn't look happy which caused Yami to mock him about this since with the Right Arm being pierced, there was no way for Seeker to complete Exodia until it was freed but by then Yami could win the duel.

Shockingly the Ghoul began to laugh causing my eyes to narrow at his unexpected fit of hysterics, with Jounouchi openly wondering if the shock of having his plan ruined had sent Seeker insane, given the craziness that seemed to be following us like a plague recently I wasn't unwillingly to agree with that idea.

"I expected you to figure out my strategy from the start! You didn't think I'd have a plan to stop your Exodia sealing strategy," Seeker mocked. I furrowed my eyebrows at this whilst Yami looked somewhat annoyed by the man's ramblings. "Take this! Sealing Swords of Light!" Seeker declared. The glowing green swords of light proceeded to surround Yami's field preventing him from attacking. "With this, none of your monsters can attack for three turns. Before the effects of my Swords expires, the Lightforce Sword will disappear and I'll complete Exodia! You haven't fought this kind of Duelist before, have you?!" Seeker mocked. He then began to laugh at Yami believing that he had already won.

"Argh… I **really** want to throttle that guy," Kylie growled out. Jounouchi nodded his head in agreement before complaining about how difficult it was for Yami to have taken the lead the first time, I simply looked on with a worried feeling churning in my stomach. "We've got to have faith at the moment, Yami is too strong to lose to a guy like Seeker and that's a fact," Kylie firmly stated. However that didn't mean she was relaxed as her hands held a tight grip on her lower arms.

"My turn, I draw a card!" Yami calmly announced. As he did the mysterious spirit proceeded to draw the afore mentioned card and looked at it before locking eyes with Seeker again. "I end my turn," Yami added on. I mentally cursed as that meant the card he drawn was of no help in getting rid of the Sealing Swords or annihilating any of the pieces of Exodia that Seeker held in his deck.

"Where'd that confidence you had before run off to? Thinking of a plan for when the Lightforce Sword wears off? You're not going to make it in time! I have three sets of the Exodia Parts in my deck! That means, I can still draw two more copies of the Right Arm. I'll get there before your sword even wears off!" Seeker declared. However that caused me to frown at his words, those two cards could be at the very bottom of his deck for all he knew so to make such a claim didn't seem right… unless what I'd seen before was confirmed; however Yami chose that moment to chuckle. "What's so funny!" Seeker demanded.

"Sealing Swords of Light is a troublesome card indeed, but it's not like it's unbreakable," Yami stated. He was right as a simple Magic card could easily get rid of the card with Seeker demanding that Yami try to get rid of the card. "Will I break the Sealing Swords first? Or will you draw the final part needed before I can? Either way, this match… will be decided in just three turns!" Yami declared.

However Seeker wasn't shaken by the declaration as he proceeded to draw a card from his deck and stared at the object for a little before he ended his turn, given that the Swords prevented Yami from removing any lines of defence and attacking directly and he didn't have any face down cards either thus Seeker probably didn't see any reason to rush his moves, I hoped that Yami's plan would come together before Seeker's did but all I could do was watch.

Naturally Jounouchi was worried about his best friend and Yami looked at the blonde for a few brief moments clearly reminding himself of what was on the line during this duel before turning back to the duel and he proceeded to draw a card then set that card, after that Yami proceeded to summon out Magnet Warrior Alpha in attack mode.

**Magnet Warrior α – Attribute: Earth, Type: Rock, Level: 4, ATK/1400, DEF/1700**

"So you go and Summon a useless Monster? It's still in vain…," Seeker claimed. However Yami retorted by claiming that it was the opposite of Seeker's belief and proceeded to announce that the greatest weakest of the Ghoul's Exodia Deck is actually Exodia itself; whilst Exodia was indeed an unstoppable monster once all five pieces were assembled, it was those same five pieces that were the weakness as they have low attack and defence points making them easy to destroy and the pieces must be kept in the hand thus leaving the Duelist vulnerable to direct attacks since they must continually play non-Exodia cards from the hand.

Right now Seeker's field was completely empty of monsters whilst on Yami's field, the combined attack power of both his monsters was only one hundred points away from four thousand meaning he only needed one more monster out and to destroy the Swords before Seeker got all of Exodia's cards and Yami would win the duel, naturally Seeker looked terrified at the prospect but claimed that Yami had to be bluffing so Yami dared him to seek if he was.

The Ghoul proceeded to draw a card from his deck and practically glared holes through the card indicating that whatever it was, the card wasn't the Right Arm that he needed which caused me to sigh in relief since that gave Yami another turn to get rid of the Swords and bring out his last monster, as Seeker deliberated on what to do Yami taunted him to make a move, Seeker hesitated for a few more moments before seized a hold of a card in his hand.

"Exodia the Sealed One in Defence Mode!" Seeker declared. The portion of Exodia was projected onto the field, it was clear that Seeker must have used a double of the card because there was no way he'd risk protecting himself with one if the chance of that same piece being much further into his deck which he would never reach if Yami succeeded on his next turn.

**Exodia the Sealed One – Attribute: Dark, Type: Spellcaster, Level: 3, ATK/1000, DEF/1000**

"Since you're using fake cards, you couldn't have faith in them at the very end!" Yami declared. Seeker's expression twisted into one of shocked whilst a scowl made its' way onto mine and Kylie's face knowing our suspicions had been confirmed. "I've been waiting for this moment! Trap card, open! Chain Destruction!" Yami declared. The card lifted up displaying its' artwork before a chain with a spiked tip shot forth and proceeded to plunge into Exodia's head and pierce through it straight into Seeker's hand and deck confusing the Ghoul.

"This card destroys all cards identical to the one Summoned, from both your hand and your deck! Disappear!" Yami declared. A projection of the chain piercing through all three pieces of Exodia's head causing smoke to begin rising from the cards within the Ghoul's hand and deck. "The Exodia cards need to be gathered together. Even if you have other parts in your hand, you can't assemble Exodia! It's impossible for someone like **you** who uses fake cards to Summon Exodia! Trap card, activate. Large Dust Tornado!" Yami declared.

His second trap activated revealing the artwork of the declared card and from it came spiralling a strong cyclone of powerful winds and with a command from Yami on what to do, the winds ripped through the Sealing Swords rendering the Magicl useless and thus allowing Yami to attack Seeker when his next turn came around with the Ghoul being in complete shock meaning that he wasn't even responding to anything Yami said or did.

"My turn! Resurrection of the Dead!" Yami declared. With that card Yami was able to bring back his Chimera who let out a fierce roar upon it being brought back, with his third necessary monster on the field Yami had his Magnet Warrior attack the only piece of Exodia's head still in the game enabling it to be destroyed with ease.

**Chimera the Winged Phantom Beast – Attribute: Wind, Type: Beast/Fusion, Level: 6, ATK/2100, DEF/1800**

With no more monsters protecting Seeker, Yami proceeded to have Demon's Summon and Chimera attack the Ghoul one after the other and thanks to their combined attack points, Seeker's Life Points were promptly dropped to zero and Seeker fainted as a result, thus ending the duel in Yami's victory and ensuring that Jounouchi's Red-Eyes had been reclaimed from this monster's hands.

**Seeker – LP: 4000 – LP: 0**

Without waiting for anyone else Kylie rushed over to the downed Ghoul and glanced at his hand no doubt seeing several Exodia pieces contained within the card grouping then she practically ripped his deck from its' hold and ejected the cards from his Graveyard, Kylie piled them together and ran a finger down the edge of the deck, hoping and searching for any flash that would indicate if the Guardians were within this man's possession.

"Damnit! This bastard doesn't have them!" Kylie sneered. Despite that tone she had, I thought I saw a gleam of tears burning at the edge of her vision; several years Kylie had been chasing shadows of the Ghouls to find Genbu's brethren and now one was right before her but he didn't have them, Yami walked over to her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder causing Kylie to look up and see him standing there with concern in his red eyes, me and Jounouchi were slightly behind him worried looks on our faces. "He doesn't have the other Guardians, I'd hoped but… nothing. Here," Kylie spoke. Her tone was numb as she handed the deck to Yami and then stood up, wiping her eyes before the tears fell.

"As per the rules, I'll be taking Jounouchi-kun's Red-Eyes and your Puzzle Card!" Yami declared. He removed the dragon and then scanned through the deck of counterfeit cards and proceeded to rip them to shreds ensuring they wouldn't be used again. "Now… you will tell me where Kylie's Guardians are!" Yami demanded. Kylie's eyes widened as she snapped her head to look at the ancient spirit slightly disbelieving in what he said.

"I lost… my… ultimate deck…" Seeker spoke. He then sat up and rose to his feet as the four of us warily regarded the man but then he began to scream and clamped his hands around his head causing us to stare at him in shock due to his actions. "Help me. He's here… he's here! Help me!" Seeker begged. Jounouchi was a little unnerved by the way that Seeker was acting but then a familiar symbol appeared glowing on his forehead, the eye belonging to the Millennium Items. "Marik-sama," Seeker spoke. His eyes then rolled into the back of his head.

"It's been a while Yugi, the great Duelist who defeated Pegasus. The man you just faced was the weakest of the Ghouls. Us Ghouls have **much** more strength than that!" Seeker spoke. However his voice was different as it had a softer tone and was somewhat echoing as the man spoke, someone was clearly possessing him.

"H-hey… what's this guy talking about?" Jounouchi asked. I didn't blame the boy for being confused due to his lack of presence at the duel against Keith or inside knowledge thanks to a Soul Bond; Seeker apologised claiming he didn't mean to surprise us and stated that the man speaking wasn't the one before him causing Yami's eyes to widen even more if that was possible.

"I'm in a place a bit further away. I've implanted a bit of my memory into him, so I can control him whenever I want. For example… something like this…," The person spoke. Whoever was controlling Seeker then proceeded to manipulate his body like it was a puppet on strings, Jounouchi got creeped out by the sudden and extremely jerky actions that were performed.

"Who are you?!" Yami demanded. The person claimed that he or she was a chosen one of the Millennium Items and the particular item that this person wielded was the Millennium Rod; after their eyes widened in shock, Kylie and Yami exchanged a look making it known that there was something they weren't telling me and maybe Yugi.

"In any case I was merely introducing myself. My name is Marik," The person introduced. Yami demanded to know what Marik and the Ghouls were after. "To gather the God cards, three legendary rare cards that have revived in this modern world. According to the Ancient Egyptians, three stone slabs were said to possess the Power of Darkness. Giant Divine Soldier of Obelisk, Sky Dragon of Osiris and the Winged Divine Dragon of Ra. The one to gather all three God Cards and who takes the title of 'Pharaoh' will be granted a power strong enough to control the **world**," Marik explained.

"Gain the power to control the world?" Yami questioned. Honestly it sounded insane, Pegasus had never mentioned any God Cards so how could they have possibly existed but the Guardians were incredibly powerful so maybe these God Cards were so strong Pegasus hid them away out of fear, Marik explained that the Ghouls had two of them already and someone in Battle City had the one they were missing – I pity the person who had that target on that back – Marik added one of his Ghouls had one of the God Cards and was already in town and he believed that Yami would lose if they faced this Ghoul.

"We'll see about that. I'll **never** hand the title of 'Pharaoh' or the power to rule the world to the likes of **you**! Even if a Ghoul holding a God Card appears before me, I won't lose!" Yami declared. Marik chuckled and claimed he'd look forward to testing that theory, sensing a lull in the conversation I knew Kylie would step in to speak her mind.

"Hey! Are you the leader of the Ghouls?! If so, then where are they?!" Kylie growled. Seeker turned to look at her so she reached into her deck pouch and quickly found Genbu pulling him out in order to show him. "Where are the others? I know your goons took them and I want them back," Kylie added on. Her tone never changed from the angry growl as she glared death at Seeker, I wondered if she could kill Marik as well from its' intensity.

"A bracelet of starlight… a powerful magical energy… similarities to the tablet's depiction… closeness to the Pharaoh and the Guardian Genbu. So, it is you… Kylie Hope, you are the Consort of the Pharaoh," Marik stated. I swear that Kylie lost all of the colour in her face upon hearing those rather confusing words which had me completely lost although I did glance at Yami who was surprised. "Know this; I will never let **that** power be revived! Genbu will be taken from you by the power of the other Guardians!" Marik declared. My eyes and Kylie's own widened in shock that he knew about **that **card before Kylie's eyes narrowed into a fierce glare.

"We're done here! Katherine!" Kylie commanded. Her voice was filled with anger and poison as she spoke the first three words, upon hearing my name I walked forward with a fiery look on my normally gentle face as I raised my hand, in that moment a golden thread appeared connecting to Seeker and floating around before shooting off to where Marik was, I placed the string between her right index and middle finger.

"You. Won't. Win," I coldly stated. Rarely did I let out such a cold tone but this man had upset my sister and a dear friend of mine by stealing their cards and then he goes on to threaten another two friends, I wouldn't let that slide. "By the power of the Millennium Gauntlet, I sever this connection!" I declared. I then brought my fingers together and as if they were a scissor, the thread was cut and Seeker slumped to the floor, completely out cold, Jounouchi was creeped out by this and wondered where Marik was hiding.

"Jounouchi-kun, this is your card," Yami stated. As he did, his hand held the reclaimed Red-Eyes but Jounouchi refused to take the card as he believed by taking it he'd be moving away from the True Duelist he was trying to become, who wouldn't approve of taking the card. "A True Duelist?" Yami asked. Jounouchi stated he considered Yugi and by extension the spirit the closest to what he considers a True Duelist and believes that he lost the feeling of fighting for something like at Duelist Kingdom. "Jounouchi-kun…" Yami spoke.

"Even when you face an opponent using cheap tricks, you always fight them fairly and you taught me another lesson as a result. What I was missing was a Duelist's pride, it's true that Red-Eyes means more to me than any other card in the world. He's been my fighting partner for a long time now and **that's** why I can't take him back now! No, the way I am now, Red-Eyes wouldn't **let** me. So, anyway Yugi… I'll leave that card with you. I put together a new forty card deck for today's tournament, I've still got my Puzzle Card so I'm still qualified to participate and I still have the Time Magician, this is the last Rare Card I have to bet. I want to become someone I can respect… a True Duelist. No, in this Battle City, I'll become one," Jounouchi declared.

Jounouchi asked if Yugi would duel him when this tournament was over, he assumed that he would win it, Yami agreed and the two proceeded to shake hands with Yami promising to look after Red-Eyes until that time came, then Yami turned to look at me, in response I proceeded to duck down beside Kylie grabbing her pant leg and hiding my head.

"Katherine, how long have you had a Millennium Item? Where did you get it from?" Yami gently asked. It was good to hear him gently speaking to me due to my shy nature but I didn't raise my head and instead tightened my grip on the fabric of Kylie's pants in response Kylie gently placed a hand upon my head in an attempt to reassure me.

"Do you recall the story of our mother getting separated from Yugi's grandfather and Professor Hopkins? The puzzle box she found contained the Millennium Gauntlet and my bracelet, she took it back with her to America in order to study it, inadvertently me and Katherine solved the puzzle on top revealing the Gauntlet and bracelet which called to us, we put them on. That was several years ago," Kylie explained. I glanced up through my fringe to see Yami nod his head in understanding

"I didn't tell you because I wasn't sure about trusting you but I'm going to trust Yugi's judgment, you don't seem to be a bad man," I admitted. My words caused Yami to look down at me as a gentle smile made its' way onto his face as he knelt down in front me and gently settled his hand onto of my head in a kind gesture.

"Thank you for your trust in my partner and I hope to earn that same trust someday," Yami responded. I glanced down briefly before looking back at the man, with that discussion out of the way Jounouchi gave an excited shout wondering who would face him and I separated myself from Kylie, the four of us proceeded to split to find the next duel for Battle City, as I walked away my thoughts turned towards Marik.

'Things are far worse than either me or Yugi realised, we have to be careful otherwise this Marik and his Ghouls will stop us… but why, what is the mystery of Yami and why did Marik address Kylie as Pharaoh's Consort.' I wondered.


	7. Chapter 7

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback.**

Chapter 7: - The Azure Dragon

Walking through Domino with a determined gait whilst my eyes flickered around looking for any sign of purple cloaks, the moment that I spotted that individual then I was going to force that individual to duel me to see if they possessed Seiryu, Suzaku or Byakko; I could feel the cold waves that pulsed off of Genbu at the thought of finally locating his brethren after so long.

A flash of purple appeared in the corner of my vision and I immediately froze my stride forward and twisted around to find the individual wearing that particular colour was twisting into an alleyway so with a snarl on my lips at the obvious sign that such a thing was a trap but I couldn't back down so I strode after the fool that dared to lead me into such an obvious trap.

Entering the alleyway I saw the person awaiting at the end so I walked over to the person who chuckled at this fact as the fool then proceeded to bow slightly to me, after rising back to the proper height the hood was pulled down revealing a dark skinned man with a sharp angular face that held small black eyes and a nose that looked to have been broken at some point, he also had buzz cut hair that was dark but its' near non-existent length prevented me from determining its' colour, the purple cloak of a Ghoul hiding the rest of his clothing.

"Welcome Kylie Hope. By the orders of the great Marik-sama I, Rajah, will defeat you and destroy the Guardian Genbu," The man calmly greeted. I planted my right hand on my hip as I gave him a stone cold look as my only response before raising my left arm allowing the Solid Vision projectors to be launched to the sides, Rajah seemed to be surprise by my lack of vocal response.

"I don't have time for a gnat like you. Let's duel and get this over with so that I can stomp your boss," I informed. Rajah frowned at this before revealing his own Duel Disk and the Solid Vision projectors were released before both of our Disks activated and our Life Point counters were set. "Let me guess, if I lose there's a consequence isn't there?" I commented. Rajah's only response was for a small smile to appear on his face so I decided that my instinct were spot on.

**Kylie – LP: 4000**

**Rajah – LP: 4000**

"I'll go first! Draw!" I announced. Drawing a card from my deck I proceeded to look it over the options that I had available to me so I removed one card and proceeded to move it towards the Disk. "I summon Canis Minor in defence move! Then I set three cards face-down!" I announced. After placing the monster into play I set the afore mentioned cards; the cluster of stars appeared before shifting into Canis' form which was a dog with deep blue fur, silvery claws and eyes, it was led down in a ball with its' eyes locked on my opponent as the tail thumped a rhythmic beat unknown to me.

**Canis Minor – Attribute: Dark, Type: Beast, Level: 4, ATK/1500, DEF/1200**

"I end my turn," I stated. Rajah maintained a calm smile as he made his move by drawing a card from his deck which he then proceeded to set a face down in the monster zone with it being placed in defence mode, Rajah then proceeded to end his turn causing my eyes to narrow at this fact; a single face down monster with no Magic or Trap cards set to protect it from any monster attacks or card effects, something wasn't right about this.

'With no other face downs to protect that monster that can only mean one thing, he'd banking on a flip effect but I don't know what it could be so the question is what to do.' I thought. As I reached for the top card of my deck I spotted translucent hands appear around mine so I looked in the direction and found Virgo hovering there, her wheat grain coloured hair was pulled back into a bun as her gentle green eyes looked at me, a plead resting on her fair face.

"_Alright then, if you insist,_" I agreed. Returning my attention to the duel I proceeded to draw the card and flicked it to see that it was indeed Virgo's card and so I immediately knew what to do. "I summon Virgo in attack mode!" I announced. The maiden was projected onto the field as she serenely gazed at the man standing across from us, Rajah was clearly confused by what I was doing by summoning a rather weak monster. "I then switch Canis Minor to attack mode!" I continued on.

**Virgo – Attribute: Light, Type: Magician, Level: 2, ATK/500, DEF/2500**

"Virgo attack his face down card with Maiden's Curse!" I commanded. Virgo raised her right arm and proceeded to gather magic into her hand before swinging the limb downwards causing the magical power to surge forward towards the face down as I held my breath waiting for what could possibly happen to my friend; the face down card proceeded to flip over revealing the monster.

**Shaddoll Hedgehog – Attribute: Dark, Type: Magician/Flip, Level: 3, ATK/800, DEF/200**

"Shaddoll Hedgehog's flip effect activates; this allows me to add one Shaddoll Magic or Trap card to my hand," Rajah stated. The chosen card was ejected from the deck holder and he took it, I should have been relieved that nothing bad had happened to Virgo however I wasn't about to relax until this duel was over and I knew whether this man had any of my Guardians or if he was a waste of time.

"You shouldn't have left yourself unprotected! Canis Minor attack him directly! Astral Crunch!" I declared. My starry canine rushed forward and would have proceeded to sink his teeth into Rajah's shoulder if he'd been physical but at least a sizeable chunk had been taken out of the Ghoul's Life Points due to his careless mistake; however this fact didn't settle my nerves as the conversation I recently had with Marik churned within my mind.

**Rajah – LP: 4000 – LP: 2500**

'Marik claimed that Seeker was the weakest of his Ghouls which means that I can't go easy against this guy, but what is he up to.' I thought. With that thought in my mind I proceeded to set one card face down and end my turn; now I had to wait for whatever move the individual facing me could come up with, Rajah proceeded to draw a card and look at it before allowing his perpetual smile to come upon his face… I was really beginning to hate that smile, he could at least smirked as that would have been less annoying.

"Miss Kylie, you can try all you like but your efforts are in vain," Rajah commented. This caused me to raise an eyebrow at his comment as I wondered what he could possibly mean by saying those words, Rajah then proceeded to slide a card into the Magic and Trap zone. "I activate the Magic Card El Shaddoll Fusion which allows me to summon a Shaddoll Fusion monster. I fuse the Giant Soldier of Stone and the Shaddoll Lizard in my hand to Fusion Summon El Shaddoll Shekhinaga in attack mode!" Rashid declared.

**El Shaddoll Shekhinaga – Attribute: Earth, Type: Machine/Fusion, Level: 10, ATK/2600, DEF/3000**

The monster's appearance caused the surrounding area to almost shake from its' massive appearance and the mechanical spider-like legs that extended from her form, I frowned at the appearance of a monster with such a high offensive power fortunately I did have a few monsters with a high enough attack power to shatter it, although it was getting those monsters out onto the field that would prove to be a problem.

"El Shaddoll Shekhinaga, attack Virgo!" Rashid declared. His monster lifted up one of her massive mechanical legs and threw it towards my monster however I swiftly activated my face down card which was the Trap Card, Attack Nullification allowing me to protect my monsters and my Life Points from taking any damage this turn but I would need to be more careful in the coming turns or risk losing this duel and any leads on my Guardians. "You survive for now. I play one monster face down and set three cards face down," Rajah finished.

"I'm not going to lose to you! My turn! Draw!" I declared. Removing the card from my deck and looked over it along with the other cards that I had in my hand, I lacked any monsters strong enough to defeat Shekhinaga, Genbu and his Ritual card so there was a limited amount of moves that I could made this turn. "Alright, I summon Scorpius in defence mode. Then I switch Virgo and Canis Minor to defence mode and I activate Treasure Cards from the Heavens allowing us to draw until we have six cards, I then set one cards face down," I stated. The newly summoned monster appeared on the field and my other two monsters dropped into defensive positions.

**Scorpius – Attribute: Earth, Type: Beast, Level: 3, ATK/1100, DEF/1200**

"End turn!" I announced. Building up my line of defence was the best thing that I could do until I had a strong enough monster in play to defeat the Fusion monster currently staring me down; Rajah smiled even wider than before almost as if he thought that I'd been backed into a corner, however that wasn't the case as I simply needed the necessary cards to bust out of this situation.

"You hopelessly struggle even though my victory is assured! I set a monster face down in defence mode!" Rajah stated. That made another face down monster and I had to wonder what he could possibly be up to with such actions. "I activate the Field Magic Card, Curse of the Shadow Prison!" Rajah announced. The card was put into play causing our surroundings to change to a barren wasteland with twisted shadows appearing underneath my monsters causing a dangerous sensation to tickle the back of my mind.

"Now I activate my face down, Angel's Charity! This allows me to draw three cards so long as I discard two of them!" Rajah announced. He made the move but suddenly a black stone with a golden magical seal appeared floating above us. "The effect of my Curse of the Shadow Prison activates. Every time a Shaddoll monster is sent to the graveyard via a card effect it gains Magical Stone Counter, since I sent Shaddoll Beast to the graveyard via Angel's Charity, it gains one Counter. Also for every Counter your monsters lose one hundred attack points **but** only on your turn!" Rajah explained. I breathed out a curse at this little twist.

"Now El Shaddoll Shekhinaga attack Virgo!" Rajah commanded. The attack from before happened again so I reached towards my disk but Virgo shook her head stopping my fingers from reaching the button thus Virgo was destroyed but I thanked her for the sacrifice that she had made in order to protect me as I moved her card into the graveyard. "I set two cards face down end my turn!" Rajah announced. I had to use this turn to make my counter attack, yet I felt something since Rajah began his turn, something was coming and it had been draw on his previous turn forcing me to swallow thickly.

"My turn!" I announced. Thanks to that Curse of the Shadow Prison my monster's lost their attack points which meant that if I wanted to defeat the Fusion monster staring me down I had to bring out one of my stronger monsters and if necessary increase its' power or get Sagitarrius out here and use his Special Effect. "Draw!" I announced. I removed the card and felt a jolt of cold run up my arm.

**Canis Minor – ATK/1500 – ATK/1400**

**Scorpius – ATK/1100 – ATK/1000**

Flicking the card over I saw that it was indeed Genbu but I didn't have The Black Tortoise to summon him so I looked over the options that I had available for me use for the moment, once a plan formed in my mind I proceeded to implement that plan by pulling a card from my hand; all the while Rajah was completely assured that I'd already lost but that wasn't going to happen so long as I had cards in my deck and faith in my friends.

"I end my turn!" I announced. Rajah's expression shifted into confusion before he let out a sigh, he probably thought I'd given up but I was too stubborn to admit it out loud, this bastard was going to learn the hard way that I'd never give in to these kinds of scumbags, Rajah drew his card and I knew that his move was coming.

"First thing; I activate my face down Trap, Squirming of Fallen Shadows! By sending one Shaddoll card from my deck to the graveyard, I can flip my Shaddoll monsters to face up position activating their effects!" Rajah announced. He had a card ejected from his deck and proceeded to slide it into his graveyard, once done his face down monsters were forcibly flipped over revealing the two hidden monsters to my eyes.

**Shaddoll Dragon – Attribute: Dark, Type: Magician/Flip, Level: 4, ATK/1900, DEF/0**

**Shaddoll Hound – Attribute Dark, Type: Magician/Flip, Level: 4, ATK/1600, DEF/900**

"Shaddoll Dragon's Flip effect allows me to send one card you control back to your hand so say goodbye to your Scorpius! Meanwhile Shaddoll Hound's Flip effect allows me to return one Shaddoll card in my graveyard to my hand," Rajah explained. I gritted my teeth as I returned Scorpius to my hand whilst Rajah got back whatever card he wanted; the Ghoul then proceeded to activate another face down. "I activate my second face down, the Ritual Magic The Azure Dragon," Rajah announced.

I think my breath hitched in my throat at that announcement as a fountain with water nearly overflowing the basin was projected onto the field with pale pink petals floating gently on the water's surface; suddenly the water spout forced more water out causing it to over flow and the water flowed to Shaddoll Dragon and Shaddoll Hound which Rajah was sacrificing to bring the monster out onto the field, one of **MY GUARDIANS**.

"Appear Guardian of the East, Seiryu! In attack mode!" Rashid declared. The water surrounded the two monsters before rushing back into the fountain which proceeded to explode causing water droplets to fly out and splatter our surroundings whilst leaving an orb of water behind; the water twisted and shifted into a shape before the water faded away revealing a towering quadrupedal snake-like being with glimmering scale the colour of azure with greenish-blue spines along the spine and around the tail, shining silver made up the three claws on its' feet and vivid green eyes stared down at me.

**Guardian of the East, Seiryu – Attribute: Wind, Type: Dragon/Ritual, Level: 8, ATK/2800, DEF/3000**

"_Ah… so this is the one I've searched for, to finally meet you but in battle, it almost breaks my heart_," Seiryu spoke. His voice a deep rumbling baritone and I gritted my teeth in response to this fact, I'd finally managed to find one of them and just like I'd feared the Ghouls had them; but hearing the deep longing within Seiryu's tone almost broke my resolve but I channelled that anger into desire, desire to win this duel.

"Now I activate my last face down, the Equipment Magic Meteor Strike and I Equip it to El Shaddoll Shekhinaga! Now Shekhinaga attack her Canis Minor and destroy it along with her Life Points!" Rajah commanded. His towering machine threw out one of her mechanical spider legs towards my last line of defence and I knew that if I didn't stop the attack then I would end up losing this duel and Seiryu.

"Trap activate! Astrological Gift! This card gives one monster I control three hundred attack and defence points!" I revealed. There was an extra effect that Astrological Gift carried but it only applied when the monster equipped with it would attack so it didn't matter in this context and thus there was no need to mention such a thing.

**Canis Minor – ATK/1500 – ATK/1800, DEF/1200 – DEF/1500**

"You only delay the inevitable!" Rajah stated. His monster's attack landed at that moment, piercing straight through my monster and I heard Canis' pained cries before he was destroyed and then the shockwave of the attack hit me forcing my body to be pushed backwards due to the power being exerted upon my form; I barely registered that Rajah had ordered Seiryu to attack me directly.

**Kylie – LP: 4000 – LP: 2900**

"Magic Card activate! Capricorn!" I announced. The card rose up and from it was projected a half goat half fish creature and it took the attack and then the fish tail swung out slapping hard against Seiryu forcing the azure dragon to stumble backwards. "Capricorn can activate when my opponent declares a direct attack it blocks that attack and cuts the attacking monster's attack power in half," I explained. My breathing was heavy but I still managed to stand tall as I glared at the beast facing me.

**Guardian of the East, Seiryu – ATK/2800 – ATK/1400**

Rajah proceeded to end his turn with some more face downs but I wasn't going to let him get away with victory not now that I had a chance to win, I drew a card and saw that it was Genbu's Ritual card allowing me to breathe a sigh of relief knowing that my counter attack could begin now that I had all the necessary cards to defeat Rashid at my disposal.

"My turn, first I activate my face down Heavy Storm which destroys all Magic and Trap cards on the field," I started. The card rose up and a fierce storm whipped around us causing my two remaining face down cards along with the ones that Rashid had on his field but this was necessary for my plan to work as now that accursed Field Magic would no longer be weakening my monsters. "Next I activate the Ritual Magic The Black Tortoise, by Tributing two monster in my hands whose level equal eight or more I can summon forth my Guardian!" I continued on.

The chilling black ice absorbed two orbs of light and proceeded to transform into Genbu who unleashed his chilling cry causing ice to form around us, this occurrence shocked Rajah as he gazed around us in wide eyed shocked before looking at me his mouth opening and closing as he attempted to process what had just happened whilst Genbu and Seiryu held each other's gaze.

**Guardian of the North, Genbu – Attribute: Water, Type; Water/Ritual, Level: 8, ATK/2900, DEF/3100**

"I then activate the Magic Card Resurrection of the Dead!" I added. I slid the card into my Duel Disk causing the card to appear and I knew exactly which monster to bring back with the card's power. "I'm going to revive one of the monsters I used to summon Genbu, return to my field Andromeda!" I commanded. The mighty magic user and my trusted friend appeared in her flash of star light with her expression hardening upon seeing Seiryu on another's field. "I then activate the Black Pendant Equipment Magic and attach it to Andromeda, raising her attack by five hundred," I continued.

**Andromeda – Attribute: Light, Type: Magician, Level: 7, ATK/2600, DEF/2300**

**Andromeda – ATK/2600 – ATK/3100**

"Now Genbu attack Seiryu with Frigid Blast!" I commanded. Genbu unleashed the chilled stream of water right into his fellow Guardian causing it to be destroyed from the attack and lowering Rajah's Life Points for the first time since the first attack that was made during this duel and I had every intention of ending this duel on this turn; as a result of the cold water stream Rasjah was beginning to shiver rather violently.

**Rajah – LP: 2500 – LP: 1000**

"I'm not done yet, Andromeda attack El Shaddoll Shekhinaga with Constellation Flash!" I continued on. My faithful friend summoned her starlight and with fury shimmering within her silvery eyes as the attack flew towards the machine and punched a hole straight through the corrupted monster torso before it dissolved into nothingness, this duel was almost done and then I could save Seiryu.

**Rajah – LP: 1000 – LP: 500**

"My final move is to activate the Magic Card, Cyclone and destroy Black Pendant which causes its' effect to activate and deal you five hundred points of damage, ending this duel," I calmly finished. The Magic card was destroyed and the shards that remained behind flew towards Rajah knocking him clean off his feet.

**Rajah – LP: 500 – LP: 0**

With the duel over the holograms faded away and I rushed over to the downed man and proceeded to eject his Graveyard and I found Seiryu and his corresponding Ritual Magic, I held the cards close to my chest for a few minutes before removing my deck and inserting the newly acquired cards into my deck; with that done I rifled through the Ghoul's pockets until I came upon the Puzzle Card so I stood up and proceeded to begin walking away from the downed man.

"You haven't won yet Consort of the Pharaoh," A voice spoke from behind me. Turning around I saw that Rajah had stood to his feet but his eyes were blank and the glowing eye symbol on his forehead told me that the man had become possessed by Marik so I crossed my arms as I stared at the possessed bastard whilst wondering how to destroy the psycho controlling him.

"I've got Seiryu and soon enough Suzaku and Byakko will follow, you can't stop me, **He** will never sleep so long as evil like you terrorises the Earth," I stated. The expression on Rajah's face remained blank and I wondered what Marik could have possibly been feeling upon hearing my words. "One question though, why did you refer to me as the Consort of the Pharaoh?" I asked. Getting answers was a secondary priority but if I could then I'd wring them out of this guy at any opportunity.

"Those answers aren't important, you are only connected to the Pharaoh and once I take his place I will strike you down as well," Marik responded. His words brought two responses to me, one was annoyance at the fact that he didn't give me the answer I had hoped for but surprisingly the other emotion I felt was… joy; yes it was indeed joy and that joy caused a smile to curl onto my face. "Why are you smiling?" Marik asked. The tone of voice had turned nervous suddenly.

"You've just told me that I'm a threat to you and that means once I find you, **I will crush you**," I promised. With my threat spoken, I activated my magic and shattered the connection – snapping something like that wasn't my speciality and why I left it to Katherine – then I twisted on my heel and strode out of the alley way as a crumbling sound echoed behind me, Rajah was really lucky I'd put a barrier around him when I was looking for his Puzzle Card otherwise he'd be dead.


	8. Chapter 8

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback.**

**I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 8: - Lustrous Jewels

I lightly stepped through Battle City yet my steps were broken slightly almost as if my body didn't want to move in any direction and instead it wished to remain rooted in my current spot, the new Duel Disk was like a heavy lead weight on my arm, almost dragging me off balance with how stumbling my walk was.

My eyes were cast down as I wandered around my thoughts whirling like a wild storm due to the encounter with Marik earlier, it was clearly something bothering my sister and Yami that they weren't exactly sharing all the details with me and Yugi ; that worried me more than anything else because I wasn't entirely sure what I should be expecting from the newest madman who'd come to try and take out Yugi and his spirit friend.

As I continued winding my way through the streets of Domino I sensed something coming towards me as Athena briefly manifested her hand in order to stop me from walking forwards, this was fortunate and just in time as at that moment a card flashed in front of me before landing in a group of bushes next to me, I looked at the card and found that it was a Fusion Duel monsters card that displayed a feminine jewel clad figure.

"Your eyes have no lustre," A female voice called. I turned to look in its' direction and came to see a teenage girl with dark skin tone, long black hair that was tied into a ponytail and red eyes, she wore a knee length cream coloured dress with buttons that looked like little gem stones running down the centre of it, a dark blue jacket sat on top of it and blue sandals covered her feet; she wore several gem stubbed pieces of jewellery and a Duel disk strapped to her arm.

"W-what are y-you t-talki-king about?" I questioned. As I did I scooped up the thrown card and I proceeded to throw it back at the girl, she easily caught the Fusion monster but her eyes stayed locked on mine, why she was staring I didn't understand but perhaps it was the contrast of my stuttered words and my sure actions but eventually she slipped the card away. "A-also you sh-should treat your cards with more respect," I chastised. This caused the red eyed girl to stare at me in shock before regaining her calm expression but a smirk rested on her dark lips.

"Perhaps your eyes aren't as dull as I thought. As for what I said, my father is a jeweller thus I've seen many gems growing up, one's that truly sparkle, true gems. Your eyes may not be so weak in light but there is hesitation in your heart," The girl explained. Her words caused my teeth to grind against each other so I quickly activated my Duel Disk and caused the Solid Vision projectors to fire out and the girl furrowed her eyebrows at this.

"Why don't we see if your right in a duel," I challenged. The girl smirked in response to my words before pulling out her Puzzle card so I did the same, meaning that we were at least wagering one card each on this duel, although I didn't know how many she possessed; the girl then proceeded to activate her own Duel Disk and we proceeded to draw five cards from our decks in order to start the duel.

**Katherine – LP: 4000**

**Masumi – LP: 4000**

"I'll go first! Draw! I summon Guardian of Hearths, Hestia in defence mode!" I announced. The monster was projected onto the field, it was a young woman with pale skin and coal black eyes, she wore a long Grecian dress that had a hood covering her blazing red hair although wisps did fall out, the dress was white but parts of it and her hands were stained with soot; she was knelt down with her hands crossed over each other on her lap.

**Guardian of Heaths, Hestia – Attribute: Fire, Type: Pyro, Level: 4, ATK/2000, DEF/2500**

"I set two cards face down and end my turn," I finished. The two cards appeared on the field, I didn't know this girl's name so I couldn't be sure what type of deck she used so I had to be cautious otherwise things could go badly for me in this duel and given the current danger presented to us in the form of one psychopath Millennium Rod wielder named Marik, I couldn't afford to lose.

"Very well then its' my turn," Masumi stated. She drew her card and swiftly switched it for a different card that was in her hand, clearly indicating that she had come up with a plan of action already. "I summon Gemresis in attack mode," Masumi declared. The armadillo like monster was summoned onto the field before curling up into a ball much like the creature it was designed after. "Gemresis effect activates when its' normal summoned allowing me to add a Gem-Knight monster from my deck to my hand," Masumi explained. The selected card popped out and she put it in her hand.

**Gemresis – Attribute: Earth, Type: Rock, Level: 4, ATK/1700, DEF/500**

"I then activate the Magic card Fusion, I fuse Gemresis and the Gem-Knight Sanyx in my hand together to summon Gem-Knight Zirconia," Masumi announced. I was surprised that she was bringing a Fusion monster out so early in a duel since it was so unexpected, perhaps this deck was one of those that revolved around Fusions.

**Gem-Knight Zirconia – Attribute: Earth, Type: Rock/Fusion, Level 8, ATK/2900, DEF/2500**

"Since Fusions can't attack on the turn they're summoned your monster gets to stick around a little but it won't last for long," Masumi stated. I didn't react to her words except to draw a card from my deck, knowing what to do I swap the card I drew for one already in my hand. "You can't beat me so long as you have that hesitation in your heart . Best just to give up," Masumi stated. Her words were like knives burrowing into a person's flesh and deep to their hearts.

"Just shut up already! I'm not giving up!" I yelled. Normally Kylie was the one to do the snapping but she wasn't here and there was something about Masumi that enabled her to get under my skin so easily. "My turn! I activate the Magic card, Monster Recovery. This returns Hestia to my field and lets me shuffle my hand!" I declared. Hestia turned into an orb of light and flew back to her card allowing me to pick it up and I shuffled it alongside the other four cards back into my deck then drew five new ones.

"I then activate my Trap card! Death Mist!" I announced. The remaining face down proceeded to rise up and deep red mist covered the field causing Gem-Knight Zirconia to begin coughing as the warrior attempted to cover its' mouth however it would have no effect. "Death Mist destroys all face up monsters on the field," I explained. Masumi's monster was then destroyed causing the dark haired girl to scowl at the turn of events. "Now I set two cards face down and summon Lady of Labyrinths, Ariadne in defence mode," I continued.

Appearing on the field was a pretty young lady with long flowing blonde hair and wide blue eyes, she wore a long red dress with billowing sleeves, cupped in her hands was a shining ball of thread with a floating string circling her form, underneath her feet appeared to be a translucent, large and twisting maze that appeared to be growing and shrinking with parts of it changing, growing and vanishing at random intervals; it caused a headache if one looked at it for too long according to my sister.

**Lady of Labyrinths, Ariadne – Attribute: Earth, Type: Magician, ATK/1700, DEF/1600**

"Well that certainly was unexpected but your hesitation will lead you astray eventually. My turn," Masumi calmly responded. She drew a card from her deck and proceeded to smile widely as she slide the card into her Magic and Trap zone. "I activate the Magic card Gem-Knight Fusion using the Gem-Knight Lapis and Gem-Knight Lazuli to Fusion Summon Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli! In attack mode!" Masumi declared. Another Fusion monster, she seemed to rely on them a fair bit or she was gearing up for something else.

**Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli – Attribute: Earth, Type: Rock, Level: 5, ATK/ 2400, DEF/1000**

"Now I activate the Magic Card Brilliant Fusion! By using three monsters from my deck as material, I can Fusion Summon Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Dia in attack mode!" Masumi announced. I was shocked to hear that she was bringing out a second Fusion Monster but this was a serious problem as that meant on her next turn she'd be able to attack me twice and it'd be a serious blow to my Life Points as she would no doubt attack me directly with Brilliant Dia unless she worried about my face downs and didn't attack. "However Brilliant Fusion reduces Brilliant Dia's attack and defence to 0 although this can be undone by discarding a Magic card," Masumi revealed.

**Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Dia – Attribute: Earth, Type: Rock/Fusion, Level: 10, ATK/3400, DEF/2000**

**Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Dia – ATK/3400 – ATK/0, DEF/2000 – DEF/0**

"I'm not done yet as I activate Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli's effect, by sending a second Lady Lapis Lazuli to the graveyard, I can deal you five hundred points of damage," Masumi continued. She proceeded to discard the afore mentioned and this caused the blue clad monster on her field to launch a burst of light at me which smashed into my form causing me to take a step back at the pressure being exerted. "With that I end my turn," Masumi calmly stated.

**Katherine – LP: 4000 – LP: 3500**

I took in deep breaths as I focused on my hand as I made to draw a card from my deck however my hand was shaking as it rested on the top card, I didn't know what was wrong with me to be causing such a trembling, this had never happened before in any of my duels; a ghostly voice echoed from near me and I glanced in its' direction to see a transparent version of my sister standing there looking as if she was cheering me on.

There was my reason, no matter what tournament I was in Kylie was always there to support me it was rare that she was vocal about it but her mere presence was always able to comfort me, but now she wasn't here as this tournament was in a mobile and large environment compared to the previous ones and we both needed to progress in order to help Yugi and Yami.

"Hah, shaking so badly after one small amount of damage, I wonder how much of a novice you really are. You're eyes are so dull and full of hesitation and uncertainty," Masumi chastised. Her words skewered me deeply and I tried to block them out but failed miserably which caused my shaking to become even worse as a burning sensation gathered within the corners of my eyes. "You shouldn't be in this tournament little girl," Masumi stated.

"Now that's not true!" A familiar voice yelled. My gathering tears subsided and I turned to look in its' direction seeing Yugi standing there with a determined expression on his face as he looked at Masumi who stared back at him with a confused expression on her face. "Katherine-chan is a great duelist, she's just shy. You can't judge her when you know nothing about her, I know that she can beat you," Yugi lambasted. Seeing him there and feeling the support flowing into me through our bond eased my heart and steadied my hand.

"Thank you, Yugi," I spoke. The boy looked at me and nodded his head so I proceeded to draw my card and looked at it plus the two cards that were already in my hand as my mind connected the dots to create a strategy that I could use. "First off I set one card face down and then I summon out Bringer of Discord, Eris in defence mode!" I announced. Setting the card into place a woman appeared on the field lounging almost, her skin tanned and her eyes a poisonous green shade with a gleam of mischief in them, long black hair tumbled down her back as a dark green Grecian dressed covered her form as she spun a golden apple in her hand.

**Bringer of Discord, Eris – Attribute: Dark, Type: Fiend, Level: 4, ATK/1700, DEF/1600**

"Hah, that little boy probably doesn't know what he's talking about however your eyes are hard, they're actually beginning to sparkle. Why don't you show me what you're really made of," Masumi dared. She then proceeded to draw the top card of her deck but she didn't put either of the cards she held onto the field. "I discard a Magic card to raise Brilliant Dia's attack and use her to attack Eris!" Masumi announced. The glittering monster drew her sword and flew towards the mischievous goddess however I smiled at this.

**Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Dia – ATK/0 – ATK/3400, DEF/0 – DEF/2000**

"Trap card, activate! Curse of Discord! When you declare an attack, this Trap bounces that attack back at your other monster!" I announced. Masumi's eyes widened as Brilliant Dia's attack smashed into a flickering green barrier which was eventually repelled and the force flew straight into Lapis Lazuli, destroying the blue clad gem and depleting Masumi of some Life Points.

**Masumi – LP: 4000 – LP: 3000**

"I set one card face down and end my turn!" Masumi announced. The card appeared and so I placed my hand on my top card and drew it, flicking it slightly I looked at the card and I was surprised at the one that I'd draw before moving it to my hand as I looked at my opponent, I knew what I had to do yet I never thought I'd have to bring out that card although Masumi was a capable opponent.

**Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Dia – ATK/3400 – ATK/0, DEF/2000 – DEF/0**

"I Release Lady of Labyrinths, Ariadne and Bringer of Discord, Eris to Advance Summon Emperor of Seas, Poseidon!" I announced. The two lady monsters turned into orbs of light and flew into the air before combining together and my new monster was brought to the field; a tall man with tanned skin, dusty blonde-brown hair and blue-green eyes dressed in silver Grecian armour with tanned leather shoes, an colourful array of small sea shells around his feet, a pair of intricately designed silver bracelets with mother of pearls in the surface and images of horses and sea creatures were clasped on his wrists.

**Emperor of Seas, Poseidon – Attribute: Water, Type: Water, Level: 8, ATK/2750, DEF/2600**

"I then set one card face down! Poseidon attack Lady Knight Brilliant Dia with Underwater Surge!" I ordered. My newly summoned monster raised his weathered hand causing rumbling to occur around us and pools of water bubbled into existence before surging upwards in powerful jets that Poseidon directed towards Brilliant Dia and the jets rushed forward with enough power behind them to cut a diamond.

"Trap card, activate! Attack Nullification!" Masumi retaliated. At the Trap's activation, a barrier appeared between the water and her monster causing the attack to be stopped in its' tracks and the water was dissipated so Poseidon lowered his hand causing the pools to fade away and the rumbling sensation left with it the water.

"End turn," I stated. Masumi actually kept her mouth shut this time around as she drew her card, perhaps she saw no reason for her to keep up with her piercing insults after my latest move, Masumi looked at it before placing it into her hand and she focused her attention back on her field with her hand reaching out to Brilliant Dia causing my eyebrows to furrow in confusion at this action.

"By Releasing a Gem-Knight monster with Dia in its' name I'm allowed to Special Summon this monster from my hand. So I Release Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Dia to Special Summon Gem-Knight Lady Pink Dia!" Masumi announced. Her monster began to glow brightly as if a light was being reflected through the gemstones across her body and then her monster appeared to fly apart as if it had been shattered into a thousand pieces.

In the pale Lady Knight's place another version of her card but with significant differences to highlight that this monster and the one from before were not the same one; the first contrast was that the overall body shape was much more rounded with the shoulder spikes missing, the cream armour was now a delicate blush pink colour with the grey plates being a dark almost reddish shade of pink as the black parts were a purple colour, the clear diamonds had become a resplendent pink with the cape being a black colour and the sword had been replaced with a sceptre like weapon.

**Gem-Knight Lady Pink Dia – Attribute: Earth, Type: Rock, Level: 10, ATK/3800, DEF/3200**

"Gem-Knight Lady Pink Dia attack Poseidon!" Masumi commanded. Her knew monster rushed forward with its' sceptre lashing out towards Poseidon however my fingers immediately activated one of my face downs which was a Trap and in an instant the attack changed course and came sailing towards me so my fingers hit another button activating my second face down card before I threw my arms up to take the attack that came at me. "What?! What just happened!" Masumi questioned, confusion thick in her tone.

"Before your monster's attack hit Poseidon I activated two Trap cards, the first one was Shield Maiden which forces the attack to change targets to me attacking me directly and the second was Enhancement Drug – Nutrient Z which gave me another four thousand Life Points before the attack hit, ensuring I wasn't taken out by that attack," I explained. Masumi's eyes widened and I heard Yugi almost start choking as worry rushed from him to me at my words.

**Katherine – LP: 3500 – LP: 7500**

**Katherine – LP: 7500 – LP: 3700**

"Why would you risk something like that?" Masumi asked. I smiled gently as I reached out and touched Poseidon's card causing the Ocean god to glance back at me with as he nodded at me before turning his attention back to the pink knight who was opposing us. "Well are you going to answer me?" Masumi prodded. I pulled my hand back as I set my fingers on the top card of my deck.

"Because Poseidon is the key to beating you!" I answered. Masumi's eyes widened in response to this but I proceeded to draw the card yet instead of looking at it I immediately activated the final face down card that I had. "Magic card, activate! Primordial Origin! By Releasing one of the Three Rulers, I'm allowed to Summon a monster whose name has Primordial God or Goddess in it whose summoning condition has been fulfilled," I explained. At those words a card was popped out of my deck and I took a hold of it causing Poseidon to be engulfed in water.

"I Release Emperor of Seas, Poseidon to Special Summon Primordial God of Water, Hydros!" I declared. Water spiralled around before it formed into a vaguely humanoid shape without any true distinct features, yet the water could be easily described as the purest and freshest that any living being had ever seen with light being refracted as it passed through the clear form.

**Primordial God of Water, Hydros – Attribute: Water, Type: Aqua, Level: 10, ATK/3900, DEF/200**

"Hydros attack with Water Squall!" I commanded. The watery figure summoned a storm of water that whipped out and proceeded to cut through the Gem Knight easily destroying the monster and causing Masumi to raise her arms in response to the wind that was whipped up because of it before it eventually died down.

**Masumi – LP: 3000 – LP: 2900**

"Hydros' effect activates, when a monster is destroyed that monster's attack points are dealt as damage to the player," I revealed. Masumi's eyes widened as water proceeded to gather above her head before it proceeded to crash down onto her form, practically soaking the girl had it actually been real and draining her of the rest of her Life Points.

**Masumi – LP: 2900 – LP: 0**

Instead of being angry or annoyed like most people were after receiving a soaking from Hydros, Masumi instead elected to laugh as my monster faded away signifying our duel was done and so did the liquid that had hit her; with a smile on her face Masumi walked up to me and held out her hand to me which held onto her Puzzle Card and another card so I reached out to wrap my hand around them yet Masumi didn't let go.

"Your eyes were dazzling during that last attack, you had better win this competition Katherine-san," Masumi stated. I stared wide eyed at the girl as she loosed her grip and proceeded to walk away, I put the two items I'd received away and turned to look at Yugi who was smiling brightly which caused a slight blush to appear on my cheeks.

"Thank you for what you said Yugi, I was so nervous that it got the better of me," I stated. Yugi's smile didn't faded away as he reached out to gently cup my hands within his own; that action caused my blush to darken as I looked at the bright eyed boy wondering what he was going to do but the only thing Yugi did was continue to smile as he gripped my hands.

"No need for thanks Katherine, I wish you the best of luck in the rest of Battle City," Yugi responded. We then proceeded to drop our hands and with a brief wave goodbye we turned and began to walk away from each other, my steps lightly and stronger than before; for whilst I might indeed be alone for now, my heart shone like a jewel filled with the warm and support of all my friends.


	9. Chapter 9

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback.**

**I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 9: - Black Magician User, Pandora

If I was Katherine then I would practically be kipping down the streets as I looked gleefully at Seiryu feeling the warming chill that came from the being who guarded the season of spring, two Guardians were with me now and as soon as I found Suzaku and Byakko then my deck would be truly complete and I'd get to pummel Marik for stealing from me.

Suddenly a rush of raw power swept over the city and I was left gasping for breath at the sheer power that had suddenly appeared and I had to wonder if that was one of these Egyptian Gods that Marik mentioned, if that was so then I understood why Marik was so terrified of me bringing all four Guardians together because that wave of power was so incredibly strong it only matched the power of one other Duel Monster that I'd encountered.

"_My lady are you alright?_" Andromeda asked. I looked up to see several of my Duel Spirits standing before me with looks of deep concern plastered across their faces, I shook my head in response to them as I pressed a hand against the area where I heart would be, it was beating rapidly in response to the wave and my magical instincts were going a little haywire to boot which severed to unsettle me even more.

"No I'm not. That power was only akin to **his**. If that is the case then these Egyptian Gods are stronger than my Guardians," I acknowledged. The expressions on many of their faces turned grim at that thought yet Andromeda didn't react to what I said. "We've got to find the other two **and **fast. If I'm not in a duel, spread out and find them!" I commanded. The Duel Spirits bowed to me despite having been constantly told that they didn't need to do such a thing several time before, I'd given up by now.

"_Yes our lady!_" They responded in unison. With that they faded away until no one remained and I proceeded to continue on my walk, stowing Seiryu away in my deck, finding those accursed Ghouls just became my top priority and I kept my eyes flittering about in search of the purple robes or anyone who gave off even the faintest wave of suspicious intent.

As I looked and searched, my thoughts drifted to Katherine, Yami and Jounouchi as I wondered how the three of them were doing in this tournament and if they'd run into the Ghoul with the God card yet although if that had happened I'd have probably heard something by now especially if it was Katherine, she wouldn't hide something this big from me or Yugi due to how important it was to Yami for him to regain his memories and I bet my family's company that the Egyptian Gods were connected to it due to their appearance on the tablet that depicted Yami as the Pharaoh.

That led my thoughts to those annoying, confusing, jarring dreams and nearly drove me to either drugging myself with sleeping pills or some strong alcoholic beverage in order to ensure I didn't actually dream; it was made even more confusing when Marik referred to me by the same title that the being of light had called me in my dream.

Consort of the Pharaoh, that was meant to be me; Pharaoh, that was meant to be Yami's original identity… this had led me to wonder what the **hell** that meant for me and Yami given what a Consort was, I normally didn't believe in prophecies, divination or anything that sounded like having a pre-determined fate despite being of magical blood due to my firm belief in free will but now… well I was a little confused.

"_My lady, look ahead_," I heard Virgo called. I glanced at my friend before looking in the direction she mentioned and my green eyes widened as I saw Yami walking towards a circus tent, now if that wasn't suspicious then I don't know what was, knowing that Yami, me and one other person had targets painted on our backs it was liable the Ghouls would come for us so I immediately tailed him.

Yami stepped inside and so I followed after him trying to keep myself as quiet as possible just in case I needed to haul Yami away from an ambush, inside the tent it was completely empty of other occupants, a light suddenly turned on shining on the centre stage where, of all things, a real life Mystic Box – looking exactly like the artwork – stood; the door swung open and inside was a person dressed in a black and red harlequin outfit with blue face paint, red lips and a large red nose, this individual beckoned Yami forward and then disappeared into the box.

"That screams trap," I calmly stated. This caused Yami to whip around and face me with a startled expression on his face and I started giggling at having startled the mysterious spirit. "Sorry. Saw you going in and got worried since Marik seems to **really **want you gone," I explained. Yami's expression shifted back to the calm look I was rather familiar with seeing before he smiled at me.

"That's alright. You're also probably right about the trap but whoever is behind this could possibly have the God card or your Guardians and I can't leave them in the Ghouls' hands," Yami argued. I was deeply touched by Yami concern over my cards despite the lack of a need for him to be and I couldn't stop the smile spreading across my face or the faint blush that rose to my cheeks at those words.

"I'm coming with you and don't even try to talk me out of it," I stated. Yami shook his head at my words but the smile remained on his face, we proceeded to walk towards the Mystic Box and after Yami stepped inside I quickly followed as the sectioned door slammed close behind us meaning that we were now locked inside, I cautiously moved my hands about only to find things were quite closed in, thank goodness I wasn't claustrophobic. "Bit of a tight squeeze," I murmured.

"Yes, quite small indeed," Yami agreed. His voice was extremely close, I tried to move backwards to give us some more space although this resulted in me becoming unbalanced when the door suddenly opened causing me to begin falling to the floor as my hands flailed about to grab something. "Kylie!" Yami called. He reached out to grab me but this only caused him to become unbalanced as well and we both ended up crashing to the floor.

Fortunately for my cranium's sake, Yami had managed to cradle the back of my head so that it didn't hit against the tiled floor although this did force him to prop himself with only one arm, the position we'd landed in had got our legs tangled together to boot; all in all this was a rather embarrassing position to fall into.

Silence stretched over us for several seconds as green eyes stared into red orbs before Yami slowly untangled our legs and then proceeded to kneel beside me so that he could pull me into a sitting position and then we both rose to our feet so that we could look around better, the Mystic Box we'd been in was behind us with the doors open but we were no longer inside of a tent.

Instead the room around us looked to be like an office yet there were no windows meaning we were probably underground and there was only one desk and upon that a single computer stood, the machine suddenly turned on and it displayed Yugi's/Yami's duelist data but then something strange began to happen to the display of Black Magician.

A strange purple glow came over it and then it proceeded to turn into a different version of the Black Magician, the skin went from pale to tan, the hair from purple to white and the robes went from purple to red causing both me and Yami to stare in surprise and this only increased when the glow turned to red and covered all the screen then it grew to be projected into the room as this different Black Magician towered above us causing us to exclaim in shock.

"I've been waiting for you, Yugi. My master, the great Pandora-sama, will duel you. I'll show you there is only one true user of the Magician-type monsters… Pandora-sama, the Conjurer!" Black Magician declared. This was clearly a hologram since it didn't give off the same aura that my Duel Spirits did when they appeared and Yami smirked before looking off to the side.

"Stop the petty tricks and come on out! Rare Hunter!" Yami commanded. A masculine laugh came from the shadows revealing an individual dressed in a red suit with sharp pointed shoulders, a black and pale blue striped tie and mask that covered half his face and a red top hat; on his arm was a Duel Disc and he held a Black Magician in his hand with a copy of the card set upon the object allowing it to be projected.

"Welcome. I am the second Rare Hunter, Pandora. Also known as the Conjurer and user of the Black Magician," The man introduced. Yami's response was to repeat the last five words no doubt confused by the claim that had come from this man as he walked forward. "Yugi, I'm aware you often use the Black Magician to defeat your enemies. But I am the Master of Magicians! There's no one who can defeat my Black Magician!" Pandora bragged. I looked between the two knowing Yami wasn't going to take that insult lightly.

"We'll see about that. Duelists build their deck by choosing the cards they trust most out of the thousands of cards available. But sometimes the cards chose the duelist. When the hearts of both the cards and the duelists become one, the cards' true power can be unleashed!" Yami challenged. He then reached to his deck and pulled it out then proceeded to shuffle the cards. "Rare Hunters don't have the duelists' heart! Okay! I'll take you on, Pandora! My Black Magician will defeat you!" Yami declared. He'd finished shuffling and pulled the top card revealing that it was his Black Magician who materialised as a Duel Spirit behind him.

"As I expected. You're said to accept any duel, it seems no different with me either. Now then, this room is a bit crowded, I've prepared a special duel ring for us… if you please," Pandora spoke. He gestured backwards revealing a set of stairs going further down into the building. "Your girlfriend will have to remain here," Pandora commented. I snorted at the words and rolled my eyes before walking forward and jabbed my finger into his chest.

"Not a damn chance in hell. I'm not letting Yami out of my sight since your boss wants him dead," I spat. Pandora glared at me but turned and began to walk down the steps so we followed after him, Pandora revealed that Marik had set this entire thing up and naturally Yami demanded to know where the mad man was but Pandora gave us no real answer as he opened a door with a question mark on it.

Inside the room was similar to a tent with a table that had the symbol of the eye on Millennium Items in the centre of the room with a part of room being depressed forming a ring around the table, Pandora babbled on for a bit but I wasn't really paying attention until the masked man revealed that whilst they could use the Solid Vision system, Kaiba Corporation couldn't locate our position.

"Seto's going to blow a gasket when he finds out," I blandly stated. Yami approached the table and they both brought out their decks and shuffled them with Yami condemning Pandora for using a Shotgun Shuffle since it would damage the cards then demanded that they cut each other cards so they proceeded to swap their decks whilst I kept my eyes on the masked man so that he couldn't cheat.

"There's an old saying amongst gamblers, 'trust your friends, but always cut their cards.'," Pandora quoted. Yami claimed that he would never call Pandora such a word and the masked man claimed that such a thing was a pity but claimed that he'll show something that would make them truly blood brothers with him putting emphasis on the blood which didn't sit well with me.

"I've got another saying, never trust a man in a mask," I shot back. I had to be sassy in tense situations when Katherine wasn't around, it was my way of coping with such an atmosphere, Pandora grinned darkly as both men were pulled back to the edges as the table descended into the ground but then shackles popped out of the edges and locked around the men's legs, then to make things worse a **Buzzsaw** – a fucking Buzzsaw! – popped out of the edge only a short distance away from both of them.

Pandora explained these were saws used in magic shows and that they were connected to the Life Point count meaning that the saw would cut through the first person whose life reached zero and then between each man's feet popped up with the box containing the key to open the shackles and it would only open when the opponent's Life Points reach zero meaning only the winner would escape.

"Stop this! It's absolute madness. Your risking your own life just to beat Yami in a duel! It isn't worth such a price!" I cried. Taking such extreme and rash action in a **game **was completely out of the realm of my mental comprehension especially since Pandora was treating it like a typical magical show. "You're. **Insane**!" I practically screamed. Never had I met someone that could actually make me question a person's mental rational.

Pegasus was a known eccentric but still sane, Dark Bakura was an evil spirit so he didn't count and I'd yet to meet Marik so my opinion of him was unformed yet but I still considered him saner than the mad man that was currently standing before me; fortunately Yami shot me a calming smile as a promise that he wasn't going to let himself lose, considering what was on the line in this duel.

The masked psycho then brought up the Greek myth about Pandora, the first woman, how evil and suffering had been locked inside of a box that was given to Pandora and when she opened it, all of that evil was released into the world and at the bottom only Hope remained, he equated this box to that legend as the key was their last hope of escape then began to let out a mad laugh.

"Is this **fun**? A battle with people's **lives** on the line. I'm asking you if you think it's **fun**!" Yami bellowed. He was truly furious about this situation probably because it put Yugi in extreme danger, Pandora's response to the words was that he did find it fun and believed that he would be victorious. "You filthy scum! Then I'll show you what a true duelist's fight looks like!" Yami roared. With that the two men activated their Duel Discs.

**Pandora – LP: 4000**

**Yugi – LP: 4000**

"I'll go first!" Yami declared. They drew five cards from their decks and looked at them so that they could begin making strategies however I had seen something during the card cut so I moved forward and placed a hand on Yami's shoulder and my lips close to Yami's ear so that Pandora wouldn't be able to hear what I was about to say to my friend.

"Yami, I know you won't like this but I have to tell you, a card that Pandora has is trimmed thinner on the edge than the others. I'm betting it's his Black Magician. He's got one in his hand right now. I've seen con artists use this trick before," I warned keeping my voice low. Yami glanced and me and reached up to lay a hand over mine then turned back to face his opponent as Pandora glared at me.

I proceeded to step back so that Pandora would see I wasn't going to interfere in the duel, for his first move Yami proceeded to set a card face down on the field and then proceeded to summon out Magnet Warrior Alpha in defence mode, this was a wise move to start off with since he knew of the card trick and didn't know what move Pandora was possibly going to make, Yami then ended his turn.

**Magnet Warrior α – Attribute: Earth, Type: Rock, Level: 4, ATK/1400, DEF/1700**

"My turn! Legion the Fiend Jester in Defence mode!" Pandora declared. He then played the card allowing his monster to be projected onto the field, he grinned as he stared at the card in his hand that had been trimmed down and if my suspicions were right then that meant that Pandora only needed one more monster in order to Advance Summon Black Magician.

**Legion the Fiend Jester – Attribute: Dark, Type: Magician, Level: 4, ATK/1300, DEF/1500**

Yami proceeded to take his turn by drawing a card and then examining Pandora's side of the field before glancing at me, Yami turned his attention back to the duel with a small smirk on his face and announced he was playing a Magic card which he revealed was Hand Obliteration, the look of shock on Pandora's face was oh so satisfying to watch as Yami explained their hands were to be discarded to the graveyard and they drew a fresh hand, that meant Pandora lost his Black Magician.

"I already suspected this but Kylie confirmed it with her sharp eyes, you already have Black Magician in your hand. Of course I'd not drop my guard around a trickster like you. Judging by the way you cut and shuffle, you don't seem to cherish your cards at all. It doesn't surprise me you'd cut them!" Yami revealed. Pandora was shocked that we were aware of his trick from the start but Yami didn't answer so the two of them discarded their cards.

After they drew a fresh hand to equal the number of cards they'd just lost, Yami promptly continued the duel by having his set card open revealing that it was Brain Control meaning that Legion was brought under Yami's control for one turn and leaving Pandora defenceless meaning that Yami could either directly attack Pandora thus reducing the masked man's life points to one thousand, three hundred in one go or Yami could attempt his own Advance Summoning.

"I sacrifice Magnet Warrior Alpha and Legion of Fiend Jester!" Yami declared. A spiral of purple smoke wrapped around the two sacrificial monsters and rose into the air before a familiar silhouette appeared with the smoke. "I Advance Summon, Black Magician!" Yami declared. The loyal magician fully materialised onto the field causing me to grin widely at his appearance knowing that Yami was not going to go easy on this Rare Hunter.

**Black Magician – Attribute: Dark, Type: Magician, Level: 7, ATK/2500, DEF/2100**

Pandora looked to be terrified upon seeing Yami's Spellcaster on the field before him as the loyal magician levelled Pandora with a harsh look as Yami declared that he was going to show Pandora the anger of the cards; Yami commanded his Black Magician to attack Pandora directly taking a very nice chunk out of the man's Life Points.

**Pandora – LP: 4000 – LP: 1500**

Due to the way this dangerous duel had been rigged, the Buzzsaw proceeded to crawl closer towards Pandora who was definitely sweating at the possibility that he'd die by his own set up as Yami dared the man to perform the show that Pandora had been bragging about before, Pandora recovered himself and proceeded to glare at Yami clearly not ready to give up.


	10. Chapter 10

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback.**

**Thank you to randomguy77 and Guest for reviewing, as for the Guest's comment – after thinking it over whilst appropriate in regards to his icy nature when gentleness when concerned with Mokuba, I don't think anyone could take Kaiba seriously if he was nicknamed The Snow King… I know I definitely laughed when imagining its' inclusion. I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 10: - Black Magician of the Soul

Yami currently held the lead in this duel but such a thing could easily change with the play of a single card and I didn't trust Pandora not to pull another dirty trick at some point in this duel, I was also kind of waiting for either Seto or Kaiba Corporation goons to come barging in because there was no way Seto didn't know me and Yami had disappeared by now.

"Pandora, if you cut your cards like that, you're just using them for your own needs! If you continue the game like this, you'll feel the full anger of those cards! Give this game up right now to save yourself!" Yami argued. It was a fair point that the ancient spirit made but something told me that this psycho wasn't going to be giving up so easily.

"Give up? Who will?" Pandora asked. He then let out a laugh whilst claiming that this current scenario was the best, I could only stare blankly at the level of insane that this masked man was displaying to me and Yami was no better than me. "Listen, Yugi… I am a conjurer and you, along with that girl, are merely the audience for my show. For the show **I **control," Pandora stated. I didn't like the way he viewed this as some kind of show or the way his eyes became half lidded as he fell silent. "I **will** win, meaning I will be the one to escape and **survive **and the one who'll be chopped mincemeat, is **you**, Yugi!" Pandora insisted.

"Normally, I either argue with, duel or if neither of those two work which is rare, punch idiots like you. But you are one hundred and fifty percent, **in**…**sane** so I give up. Yami kick his ass so we can leave, I can already feel a migraine building at his level of crazy… that and I'm worried it's contagious," I commented. Yami raised a fist to his mouth and coughed into it but I noticed his shuddering shoulder implying he was trying to hold back laughter whilst Pandora glared at me with anger, eventually Yami recovered himself and focused back on Pandora.

"Pandora, only a fool **blinded** by his own greed would say such words… let's continue this game Pandora!" Yami declared. I really wish I had some idea how to stop these Buzzsaws and open the boxes but I'd already looked around and found nothing resembling any kind of access panel or computer system meaning it was either in the dueling area or behind the curtain blocked room behind Pandora.

"_Kylie! Kylie! Can you hear me?!_" Katherine screamed, panic laced deeply in each word. I jumped slightly having not expected my sister's voice to suddenly appeared but I realised that it had come from within my mind meaning that she had contacted me telepathically, however I did have to wonder why she sounded so panicked.

"_Yes Kathie. Now chill and calm down! What's wrong?_" I asked. Yami and Pandora regarded me oddly due to my sudden jump but I simply tapped the side of my head in order to indicate that it was a mental conversation so Yami would automatically know it was Katherine since she was the only one who could contact me in that way.

"_Oh… I don't know. How about Seto and Mokuba ambushing me on the streets, telling me you __**and **__Yugi are missing and THAT IT WAS PROBABLY THE __**GHOULS**__ WHO HAVE YOU!_" Katherine calmly started, only to grow louder and angrier thus ending with her practically shrieking. Even though she wasn't really here I still had a ringing sensation only this rattled through my brain which scrambled it for a few moments thus preventing me from responding until it cleared up.

"_I'm assuming that Seto is looking for us right now,_" I commented. A sharp 'yes' shot into my mind, indicating that Katherine was still stressed out about the current situation, not that I blame her because if the situation was reversed, I'd be tearing apart Domino looking for her and Yugi and nothing short of an apocalypse could stop me. "_We're together and Yami is currently locked in a duel. He's currently winning but things will go badly if he loses. Make Seto hurry up! I know we're underground but that's it!_" I exclaimed.

With that our mental conversation ended and I could only hope that Seto would find us soon just in case Yami did need saving before his legs got sheared off, they got back to the duel with Pandora proceeding to draw a card but didn't make a move making it known that he was evaluating the situation; Pandora eventually made his move by summoning out Killer Tomato in Defence mode.

**Killer Tomato – Attribute: Dark, Type: Plant, Level: 4, ATK/1400, DEF/1100**

Pandora proceeded to finish up his turn by setting a card face-down on the field, by summoning another monster next turn Yami would be able to end this duel, however that face-down card was most likely something that would either stop the summoning or destroy a monster once a summoning was conducted; Yami proceeded to summon out Magnet Warrior Beta.

**Magnet Warrior β – Attribute: Earth, Type: Rock, Level: 4, ATK/1700, DEF/1600**

"Trap card activate! Reviving Coffin of Black Magic!" Pandora announced. The card opened up causing a coffin to be projected onto the field which opened up and two beams of red light shot out, encasing Yami's Magnet Warrior and Pandora's Tomato. "It offers a Summoned monster! Reviving Coffin of Black Magic takes the soul of an enemy's monster, as well as one of my own monster's souls. It then revives the Black Magician's soul residing in my Graveyard," Pandora explained.

"Revives your Black Magician!" Yami exclaimed. My eyes widened in surprise, I'd known this card existed but I hadn't expected it to be played – I was silently cursing my family's eternal bad luck – the coffin opened allowing Pandora's Black Magician to emerge causing the two Magicians to have a stare off as I bit down lightly on the corner of my bottom lips.

**Black Magician – Attribute: Dark, Type: Magician, Level: 7, ATK/2500, DEF/2100**

With both of them having the same attack points, neither could directly attack without it ending in a stalemate thus the two duelists would have to resort to using Spell and Trap cards in order to gain an advantage, Yami proceeded to place two cards face-down and ended his turn, this game had evolved into a battle of wits to see whose support cards would succeed.

Pandora drew and then set two cards, Yami drew and set one card with the masked psycho repeating this move and Yami did the same thing, the tension was thickening over rather quickly as my eyes darted between the two men wondering whose face down cards would be revealed first and what the outcome would be of those activations.

"It seems we both have four cards face down on the field. In that case, I'll take the first strike. Magic card! Mystic Guillotine!" Pandora declared. The card opened up, shocking Yami but then shackles flew over and seized a tight hold of Yami's Black Magician and proceeded to drag the magic user over to the apparatus and forcibly setting him up to have his head cut off, naturally Yami was horrified by this and called out to his monster. "Yugi! This is the end of your Black Magician!" Pandora stated.

The guillotine's blade began to slide down towards the loyal Magician but Yami wasn't going to let such a thing happen as he activated his own Magic card, Magical Silk Hats, as whenever those wonderful top hats appears one promptly settled over the Black Magician just before the guillotine blade sliced through the fabric yet no Magician was underneath as the other three hats assembled themselves in front of Yami.

I let out a sigh of relief as Pandora remained motionless for a little while but he then made his move by proceeding to activate a second face-down Magic card called Thousand Knives which promptly flew over intent on skewering the middle hat meaning that was where Yami's Black Magician was currently hiding due to Thousand Knives' effect, Pandora asked 'how's this?' as he clearly believed he was going to be victorious.

"You saw through it? Well then Magic Removal!" Yami declared. The card activated causing a sparkly yellow light to fly over and enshroud the knives and hats then proceeded to destroy both Magics, Pandora clearly wasn't taking these successful counter attacks well as he then declared for his Black Magician to attack so the two Magicians clashed and as a result both of them were destroyed.

"Both Black Magicians have been demolished!" Pandora and Yami declared in unison. They then both activated their third face down which turned out to be the same card. "Resurrection of the Dead!" Both men continued. In accordance with their choices both Black Magicians were brought back to the field with both men freezing as I remained motionlessly whilst looking at the duel.

'Damnit! We're right back to the start, only down by three face downs! Shit! Seto where the hell are you!' I growled inside. Yami complimented Pandora for fighting so well against his Black Magician and then proceeded to make his move by skipping his turn, it was dangerous to not try anything against the masked man but also smart as Yami didn't know what the psycho was planning.

"Pandora, you're skills are quite good. If you're a duelist of this calibre, you shouldn't have fallen to this level so easily. Why is it you fall so low as to follow Marik and act as one of the Ghouls' Rare Hunters?" Yami asked. I wasn't surprised that he asked such a thing since Pandora was a genuinely good duelist, so why was he working for a scumbag like Marik.

In response to the question, Pandora raised a hand to his mask and proceed to remove it whilst insisting that we look at it, the face was horribly burned and scarred and Pandora explained he used to be a professional magician for several years and was known throughout the world, he also happened to meet the woman he loved Catherine… I think me and Yami were a little startled to hear my sister's name, even if it was off by one letter it was still weird.

Pandora explained that after a failed escape trick he had received his current scarred visage and Pandora claimed that his career as a magician alongside any love Catherine might have had for him was taken away because he only focused on himself after the accident thus rejecting her and Pandora realised this mistake all too late, it was at that moment that Marik showed up before him and cut him a deal, if Pandora killed Yami then Marik would get Catherine's love back for Pandora.

"Why don't you encourage your lover to trust and believe in you? Even now, it isn't too late! Honour your girlfriend with your heart and soul!" Yami encouraged. However Pandora dismissed these words claiming that Yami was just a kid and that his opinion was quite extreme and believed that trust wasn't possible in this scenario.

Pandora turned and gestured behind him to the curtain causing a light to come on and a silhouette of a figure seat in a chair appeared behind it causing my eyebrows to furrow together in confusion as Pandora explained that this individual was Catherine, but there was one slightly problem with this revelation… there was **no one** back there.

Every living being gave off their own unique pulse of life which me and Katherine could detect, it was how we could distinguish between Yugi and Yami, but the silhouette wasn't giving off any life pulse meaning that there wasn't anyone back there, Marik was lying to Pandora using his feelings for Catherine to manipulate the masked man to do his bidding… Pandora was still a psycho but Marik was reaching a new level of low in my opinion by doing this.

"Just like in a Duel, you have to trust one another. No matter what happens, I believe in my Black Magician! In this duel, whoever trusts his own cards will determine the outcome, that's the key to victory!" Yami declared. Pandora claimed Yami was more naïve than the masked man had previously believed. "You think so!" Yami challenged. Tension thickened over once more between these two as I waited for Pandora to make a bloody move already, given that it was his turn, Pandora then began to laugh.

"_Good new! We've found your location, me and Mokuba are on our way!_" Katherine called. I could breathe a little easier knowing that the cavalry were on their way, I didn't doubt Yami's dueling capabilities but I'd rather have some help** just **in case things go sideways, Pandora finally made a move by drawing a card and promptly setting one face down.

Yami wasn't taking any chances as he proceeded to place two cards face downs, Pandora decided to stop the light stepping and he activated the Magic card Beckon to the Dark, this caused storm clouds to gather overhead and a demonic clawed hand reached down from the clouds and towards Yami's Black Magician as Pandora explained it would snatch away this monster to the Graveyard.

"You think I'll let you! Trap card! Spirit's Mirror!" Yami retaliated. The demonic hand proceeded to release Yami's Black Magician and turned to seize a hold of Pandora's Black Magician thanks to the Trap's effect allowing Yami to control Pandora's card, but this turned out to be a trap as Pandora wanted Yami to sacrifice his Trap card in order to let Pandora activate his Trap, Nightmare Cross.

Red chains shot forth from the card and proceeded to secure themselves around Yami's Black Magician and he was pulled back onto a cross and chained there preventing him from moving and Black Magician was not happy about this if the sneer cutting across his face was anything to go by, Pandora cackled over this fact especially since Yami was now defenceless.

"Have you prepared yourself well? Go, my servant! Black Magician!" Pandora commanded. Pandora's Spellcaster charged forward to attack Yami thus rapidly dropping the mysterious spirit's Life Points, as this occurred Black Magician looked on in anger and sorrow; this caused my eyes to widen as I'd never seen such love and devotion in a Duel Spirit before, not even in Andromeda and Athena.

**Yugi – LP: 4000 – LP: 1500**

Due to the decrease in Life Points, the Buzzsaw proceeded to move close to Yami's legs causing my breath to hitch as Pandora claimed that his 'magic show' was reaching its' climax causing me to nearly rush over and punch the masked psycho due to the complete disregard he had towards another person's life.

"_Hoof it Kathie, we're in a little pickle now!_" I called. Katherine didn't respond except to send a jolt of worry and frustration towards me, letting me know that my little sister was indeed picking up the pace and no doubt forcing Mokuba to do the same; Pandora claimed this was Yami last turn so the ancient spirit proceeded to draw a card.

"_We've just met up with Suguroku and Anzu. We're on our way! Hang on!_" Katherine responded. Yami proceeded to summon out Big Shield Gardna in defence position, with its' defence being significantly high and only just escaping Black Magician's attack power that at least meant Pandora wouldn't be able to attack him directly again.

**Big Shield Gardna – Attribute: Earth, Type: Warrior, Level: 4, ATK/100, DEF/2600**

"Oh, you put out a wall monster, I see. You're thinking as long as you have a wall monster, I can't do anything to you. But that's all in vain, Yugi, your life will end this turn! I hope your prepared!" Pandora claimed. Yami stared at the masked man in confusion as Pandora started his turn. "For the time being, I summon one monster. Killer Doll," Pandora stated. The monster was projected onto the field but I was confused by what the masked psycho was intending to do with this monster.

**Killer Doll – Attribute: Dark, Type: Demon, Level: 4, ATK/1600, DEF/1700**

"And the Magic card that will cause your death! The Field Magic, Ectoplasmer!" Pandora revealed. I felt the breath in my lungs freeze at those words as I saw the artwork of the card, by nominating two types of monsters and sacrificing them, Pandora would be able to inflict half their attack points as damage onto Yami which meant that unless Yami did something he **was** going to lose; Pandora explained this effect to Yami who was horrified.

"You can't be! You're willing to sacrifice your own monster's soul?!" Yami questioned. Pandora agreed with this revelation and that the monster would die as a result but this caused his Black Magician to go limp and glance backwards causing me to raise an eyebrow at this reaction especially when Pandora carried on by claiming that sacrificing his monsters was only a stepping stone in order to get back Catherine.

The crazy psycho turned back to the fake silhouette and claimed that the illusion would be able to come out soon, how the hell could he not seen that this silhouette was a complete fake, I could not tell but this was going to backfire against him big time once this duel was over, **if** it went badly though I needed to focus on saving Yami from that blasted Buzzsaw before Yugi lost his legs.

Pandora intended to sacrifice both Killer Doll and Black Magician in order to turn them into Ectoplasm and he started by declaring the Demon Type causing Killer Doll to be shrouded in a white light causing it to go limp and a white orb of light rose up before flying over to the Ectoplasmer hologram and entered into the hologram.

"Attack!" Pandora declared. A beam of whitish-blue light shot forth and impacted against Big Shield Gardna, pausing for only a brief minute before shooting right through the monster in order to strike against Yami who had braced for the incoming attack, however the moment it faded, the spirit lost his stance and slumped down slightly from the pain of the impact.

**Yugi – LP: 1500 – LP: 700**

The Buzzsaw crept closer to Yami whilst his Black Magician watched on, unable to protect his chosen master and the pain shimmering in his eyes was powerful; Pandora claimed that the reason why he was unbeatable was because he could step on his 'servants' without a second thought even if it meant they're deaths and claimed that Yami methods were purely naïve even daring to claim it was fine to kill them just to win.

"SHUT UP!" I screamed. In retaliation to my fury at Pandora's disregard, my magic whipped out in visible silver tendrils of power flittering across my form as a silver glow gleamed in my eyes. "They **aren't** servants! They're **friends**! They have hearts and souls as much as **we **do! You're no unbeatable duelist! You're a hack! A fool! Black Magician is **hurting** because he can't fight for Yami! You… you have **no right** to call yourself a duelist!" I ranted. Once done, my magic faded as I had to kneel down due to the exhaustion I got lapped with.

"Humph… hearts and souls. You're clearly delusional, they're nothing but cards!" Pandora dismissed. I didn't care about my exhaustion then because I wanted to rip Pandora's head off right there and then for this callous disregard to his own monster and the beliefs that I held dear to my heart so I began to push myself up.

"_Fair maiden, do not strain yourself,_" A male voice called out. I snapped my head over to the source and my eyes widened as I realise it was Yami's Black Magician causing me to falter in my upwards motion. "_I will not let my king lose, I swear this again,_" Black Magician added. I didn't nod my head only allowing myself to relax slightly as I let myself settle back down slightly as I caught Yami's panicked gaze.

"Kylie… please calm down. I swear I'll defeat him so do not worry," Yami pacified. I nodded this time around and began to take in deep breaths to calm myself, if anything my little magic freak out would be sensed by Katherine and make her run faster, Yami smiled slightly before turning back to his opponent and his smile dropped as a glare came onto his face. "Pandora, you're a bastard!" Yami growled.

Pandora didn't seem to care at all about our condemnation of his actions and went on to claim that Black Magician gave its' life and soul for his needs, completely ignorant to the terrified expression on the Magician's face as he listen to Pandora's words, the masked psycho then proceeded to sacrifice his Black Magician causing the monster's soul to do a repeat of Killer Doll's soul.

"Pandora, your monster is crying," Yami condemned. As his callousness had already been made apparent, Pandora didn't care as he simply ordered Ectoplasmer to launch its' attack, the blast of light launch forward towards Yami bypassing Big Shield Gardna once more as my heart twisted painfully so I summoned my magic to my hand, ready to save Yugi and his spirit friend from danger.

However Black Magician suddenly began to glow, all of us were shocked by the sudden occurrence as my magic faded away, a golden soul emerged from Black Magician and flew over to intercept the whitish-blue energy flying at Yami with the golden energy turning back into Black Magician with his arms outstretched in order to shield Yami from the energy's attack completely.

"Black Magician, in order to stop it, transformed itself into Ectoplasm as well?" Pandora questioned. That single act showed how much devotion the mighty Magician felt towards Yami and someone so cold like Pandora could never understand it; the clash between the souls proceeded to end with a flash of bright light which briefly blinded me.

"Black Magician… for my sake you…," Yami spoke. He seemed shaken by the level of love that his monster had felt towards him but there was clearly a deep bond between Yami and the Black Magician if the events inside the spirit's Soul Room was anything to go by, his softened eyes quickly hardened into a deadly glare directed at Pandora. "Tyranny isn't the only method to win a game! I'll teach you this Pandora!" Yami promised. I knew that the spirit wasn't going to let his monster's sacrifice be in vain.


	11. Chapter 11

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback.**

**Thank you Guest for reviewing and YES Kaiba is an absolute softie when it comes to his younger brother**

Chapter 11: - The Magician's Disciple

Pandora was clearly shaken by the sacrifice that Yami's Black Magician had willingly committed especially since he had sacrificed his own monster thus leaving him utterly defenceless meaning if Yami got a strong enough monster in the next turn then he would be able to win this duel, so long as Pandora didn't play anymore nasty surprises for us.

"Continue the Duel!" Pandora declared. He was either confident, stupid or terrified of Marik's retaliation if he backout, or possibly all three given his track record at the moment. "My End Phase! Reverse card set! Turn over!" Pandora announced. That face down card was probably going to cause trouble down the line, I could just feel it in my gut. "Yugi, I know you don't have another Black Magician in your deck, right? The true title of Black Magician user goes to me after all," Pandora boasted.

"We'll see about that Pandora. If you truly are the true Black Magician user, you should have heard it. The mourn of the card's soul who was betrayed by his master!" Yami retaliated. Anyone who cared for their cards would understand just how important they were and when Pandora claimed he hadn't heard such a thing, I knew he didn't deserve to be a duelist; especially when Pandora added all he heard was the Buzzsaw's grating noise.

"Yugi, you only have seven hundred points of your Life left. At the moment it hits zero the cutter will slice into you. I will conduct the perfect ending to the greatest escape show!" Pandora claimed. Even if Yami did lose – which I doubted – I wouldn't let him be harmed as I was prepared to disable the Buzzsaw

"The cards decide how the fight ends. Here I go! My turn!" Yami argued. He then drew a card from his deck but analysed the situation before he decided on a move, I noticed Pandora's face taking on a gleeful expression as we waited for Yami to take his turn. "I summon Phantom Beast King Gazelle!" Yami declared. The summoned monster became projected onto the field and with fifteen hundred attack points, Pandora was finished.

**Phantom Beast King Gazelle – Attribute: Earth, Type: Beast, Level: 4, ATK/1500, DEF/1200**

"You fell right into my trap!" Pandora exclaimed. I snapped my head over to the mad man's location as a gleeful expression came onto his face as his hand activated the face down card he'd played, I knew it was going to be trouble. "Trap Card! Demon's Scale!" Pandora revealed. The card flipped up allowing Yami to see its' artwork and I internally groaned at this whilst Yami was surprised by the trap. "This Trap card is activated when the opponent summons a monster. Judging by the number of monsters I have on the field, it will make your field equal to that!" Pandora explained.

The artwork on the card was projected onto the field as Yami realised he'd lose all his monsters as a result of this move, Demon's Scale moved forward and proceeded to swallow Gazelle and Gardna which transported them up onto the right hand scale; this scale then proceeded to close together which crushed the two monsters in its' grasp with both of them crying out in pain before their destruction.

"Now the number on both our fields is zero! It's a shame, since you just summoned a new monster. My turn!" Pandora spoke. He then proceeded to draw a card from his deck and I was unnerved by what the man could be planning with Yami's field wide open and only two face downs to help out, within this tournament's rules only a level four or below monster could be summoned, but such things as a level could be circumvented easily.

"Yugi, it seems you think you've read through my strategy. On the contrary, I have a card that will let me summon a high level monster in an instant! A card that will let me call the best magician, Black Magician!" Pandora declared. I had no doubt that Pandora possessed such a card but would it really let him summon the Black Magician straight away. "I'm going! This is the key card to victory! Black Magician Curtain!" Pandora announced.

"Oh… bugger," I cursed. That card would definitely bring out Black Magician, in fact it was designed solely for that purpose, Pandora explained that in exchange for half of his Life Points the curtain would bring out the aforementioned magician, although it did also prevent other cards from being played unless they were already set.

**Pandora – LP: 1500 – LP: 750**

"Come forth! Black Magician!" Pandora announced. The curtain was pulled back to reveal the Black Magician within its' confines who let out an ominous chuckle as he stared down at Yami, of all the cards Pandora had to have in his deck, it had to be that one. "Yugi, how do you like my perfect Magician deck? Summoning speed, quick acting and magic combination. Including everything, it surpasses your deck. I'm the only one worthy of being called the true Black Magician user, don't you think?" Pandora bragged. He then let out that annoying laugh of his which was really beginning to grate on my nerves.

**Black Magician – Attribute: Dark, Type: Magician, Level: 7, ATK/2500, DEF/2100**

"Like hell you are! You don't care for your cards and deserve to be stripped of them! I know Yami can **and** he will defeat you, Black Magician chose him and that is a fact!" I hissed. Black Magician's words still echoed in my mind, he considered Yami his king and was definitely loyal to him which was more than enough for me to believe in Yami being the only one worthy of using Black Magician; Pandora simply scoffed at my words then turned his attention back to Yami, who looked at me grateful for my support.

"Right now, you have no monster guarding you. This turn, if I were to attack you with Black Magician, it's certain that your Life would diminish and that I would win. The only things guarding you is those set cards on your field. Most likely one of them is a Trap card that activates when an attack is launched and it wipes out the attacking monster. What an eyesore. Why don't I seal that set card?" Pandora spoke. Pandora then showed us a Magic card with arrows raining down on a set card.

"Seal my set card?!" Yami repeated. Pandora didn't respond and instead chose to activate the Magic-Sealing Arrows allowing the arrows to fly out and pierce into both of Yami's set cards thus leaving him completely vulnerable to an attack, I couldn't see a way out of this situation as Pandora commanded the Black Magician on his field to attack Yami directly.

Black Magician responded and proceeded to fly over towards Yami, but suddenly whips of dark wind flew out in front of Yami causing the Black Magician to fall back for a moment and from within the smoky vapours arose Black Magician Curtain… I really needed Katherine to be here in order to pinch me because I had to be hallucinating, up until Pandora confirmed he was seeing the same thing.

"Yes. The Magic card you played, Black Magic Curtain, is a card that affects the entire field. In other words, I am also allowed to use that magic. I will also summon a Black Magician card!" Yami explained. That was all well and good but as far as I know Yami didn't have another Black Magician card in his deck so how could he possibly utilise the Magic card.

**Yugi – LP: 700 – LP: 350**

"Impossible! You shouldn't have another Black Magician in your deck!" Pandora accused. Yami freely agreed to this as he admitted there was only one Black Magician in his deck. "T-then what are you…?" Pandora wondered. Yami explained that there was a female magician who could be considered the 'Magician's Disciple'; at those words my eyes widened because I knew of a monster that fitted that description but Yami **couldn't** have her. "Impossible! There is a Magician card that I, the Magician user, don't know about?!" Pandora refuted.

"I'll show you!" Yami declared. With those words the Black Magic Curtain was pulled back once more to reveal the individual that had been summoned with a light shining from within the confines which lit up a silhouette that I had never seen projected before but I still recognised it before the light fully encompassed the young female magician. "Black Magician Girl!" Yami introduced.

**Black Magician Girl – Attribute: Dark, Type: Magician, Level: 6, ATK/2000, DEF/1700**

'How?! How on earth does Yami have that card? It isn't supposed to be in his deck.' I thought. I'd known of the card for a long time, it had been promised to be created before the start of Duelist Kingdom but that card was meant to be in a specific person's deck because that was the person Uncle Pegasus had promised to make it for, I thought back to the day that the card had finally arrived… which to be honest was only a few days before Battle City started.

_***Yu-Gi-Oh***_

_The doorbell rang causing me and Katherine to look up from what we'd been focusing on so I stood to my feet and walked over to it opening the door only to see a delivery man from Hope Industries, he extended his hand which contained an envelope with my father's hand writing on it, I took the object and thanked the man so he proceeded to leave and I closed the door as I checked who this envelope was for._

"_What is it Kylie?" Katherine called. I walked back to her and set the envelope on our coffee table so my little sister came over and took a seat beside me as she looked at the object with Katherine picking up on the handwriting and who it was addressed to. "It's from dad to me," Katherine stated although she made it sound like a question. I nodded my head and motioned to the girl so she picked up the envelope and proceeded to open it._

"_Dear Katherine. I know this is a little late but little brother's planning of Duelist Kingdom and subsequent hospitalisation prevented this from getting to me sooner. Anyway, Happy Birthday again sweet angel and I'm sure you'll enjoy your uncle's present. Love Father," Katherine read. My sister set the pristine white paper on the table and reached back into the envelope to pull out the present._

_A squeal escaped my sister causing me to lean back slightly at the sudden emission of happiness from the young girl which caused me to blink slightly before I shuffled closer to her in order to see what had made her so excited at its' appearance, I saw that it was a Duel Monsters card and my sister twisted it so that I could see it._

_In response to the realisation of what it was, I allowed a smile to curve across my face as this was a card Pegasus had promised he'd make for Katherine after her last birthday present, it was a counterpart to the Black Magician, in a way this was his disciple… the card was the promised Black Magician Girl and I couldn't resist making a little tease at my sister._

"_Well… at least you compliment Yugi now," I commented. A teasing smile on my face but that didn't stop my sister blushing bright red as she slapped her hand against my shoulder in retaliation causing me to let out a hearty laugh at her embarrassment._

_***Yu-Gi-Oh***_

"B-Black Magician Girl!" Pandora repeated. The female magician stood before with her arms crossed as her green eyes focused on the person opposing the one holding her card – I'm interrogating Katherine after this duel – Pandora recovered shortly after he spoke with his eyes turning into a glare. "But Black Magician Girl's attack is only two thousand! It can do nothing against Black Magician's attack! Black Magician attack Black Magician Girl!" Pandora commanded.

The Black Magician proceeded to fly forward in order to engage the younger magician who wasn't intimidated in the least as she swung her wand forward as Black Magician struck causing a burst of power to ricochet throughout arena and shrouding the two magic users in a cloud of smoke; Pandora declared that he had won but Yami quickly challenged the masked psycho's decision, the cloud faded away to reveal Black Magician Girl still standing strong whilst Black Magician was reduced to nothing.

"Impossible… my Black Magician is disappearing!" Pandora refused. He couldn't accept his loss of the battle, despite the fact that such a thing was occurring right before his eyes. "W-why? Its' attack should be five hundred higher?!" Pandora wondered. Since Black Magician Girl was a one of a kind card it was no surprise Pandora didn't know of her special effect.

"I'll tell you. Black Magician Girl, for each Black Magician sleeping in the Graveyard, increases her attack by three points for each. The soul of a fallen ally makes her stronger!" Yami explained. However Pandora didn't seem to understand what Yami meant by this as he stated that even with the increase Black Magician Girl's attack should have only been twenty-three hundred since Yami's Graveyard only had one Black Magician.

"You aren't listening!" I snapped. Pandora looked over at me so I pointed to Black Magician Girl ensuring he would know exactly what we were talking about. "If you really were a Black Magician user, it'd be obvious how she's so strong. It isn't just Yami's Graveyard she's drawing power from," I began. Pandora looked at the female Magician and finally his eyes widened as he realised the truth before him. "But yours **as** well," I finished explaining.

**Black Magician Girl – ATK/2000 – ATK/2600**

Behind Black Magician Girl, lending his strength as much as Yami's Black Magician was the Black Magician that Pandora had so heartlessly sacrificed in order to use Ectoplasmer, Pandora couldn't believe such a thing but Yami confirmed my words by stating the female magician gained the strength of **all** Black Magicians not just the one that he had and because of Pandora's treachery, his Black Magician had switched sides.

**Pandora – LP: 750 – LP: 650**

**Black Magician Girl – ATK/2600 – ATK/2900**

"It's my turn, Pandora!" Yami announced. Black Magician Girl brought her wand back ensuring that she was ready to act out the orders that she was soon to be given. "Black Magician Girl, attack Pandora directly!" Yami commanded. Black Magician Girl struck a pose as she gathered her magic together, meanwhile Pandora began to fruitlessly struggle against the shackles that he had locked himself in willingly, obviously realising he was going to lose, Black Magician Girl flew forward and attacked Pandora. "Black Burning!" Yami announced.

**Pandora – LP: 650 – LP: 0**

"Because you betrayed your cards, you've lost, Pandora!" Yami accused. Right as he said this I got a message from Katherine revealing that her and the others had just reached the building we were under, which happened to be a card and RPG shop of all things. "For a duelist, to not cherish the bond between your cards, your only walking down a path of failure. You lost because you disrespected your Black Magician!" Yami accused.

Pandora couldn't accept such a belief and Yami further lambasted him for not having the soul of a duelist before casually reminding him of the Buzzsaw crawling towards his legs which picked up momentum right after Yami finished speaking; the box at Yami's legs proceeded to open so I rushed over and saw a key and puzzle card inside, kneeling down I pulled the key out and unlocked the cuffs around Yami's legs, finally setting him free.

Standing up I looked over only to see Pandora holding a key identical to the one I'd used to free Yami in his hand causing me to scowl as that meant that the man would be able to escape from the trap he had set, suddenly a tingle ran through my body and I recognised it as belonging to a Millennium Item causing me to look around but I couldn't see Katherine, Shadi, Dark Bakura or anyone apart from Yami and I knew for certain it wasn't him.

"Save me! Please let me off the hook! Marik-sama!" Pandora begged. My eyes widened as I realised that the tingle had to belong to the Millennium Rod, me and Yami exchanged a look before turning back to Pandora whose eyes had widened in fright. "H-huh? The key's gone? I was just holding the key a moment ago!" Pandora freaked out. I furrowed my eyebrows at this as the Buzzsaw crept closer and Pandora dropped the key.

"Marik must have wiped his memory of that key. If he can control them, he must be able to do other things," I acknowledged. Suddenly banging occurred from behind us causing us to look at it meaning that someone had to be outside of the room but it could very well be a Ghoul come to check on Pandora independently.

"Kylie! Yugi! Yami! Someone answer us!" Katherine called. Light emitted from the Puzzle causing Yami to switch places with Yugi who promptly ran forward and fell to the ground grabbing a hold of the key so in my panic I fired of a magical blast, destroying the creeping Buzzsaw ensuring Yugi wouldn't be dying any time soon… boy could be as crazy as Katherine when he wanted.

"Damnit Yugi! That's dangerous!" I chastised. The boy managed to unlock Pandora and stepped back whilst telling Pandora off for throwing his life away in a game, his shoulders were rapidly rising and falling showing how worried he must have been despite the way that Pandora had acted towards his cards; I knelt down beside the boy and gently rubbed my hand up and down his back.

Pandora leapt to his feet and stumbled over to the back room whilst calling out the name of his fiancée, eventually he reached the curtain and pulled it down causing the fabric to cover the silhouette as Pandora talked to it fondly causing me to shake my head; the curtain slipped down revealing what I already knew, the 'person' back there had been a mannequin set up to fool Pandora, yet the masked man didn't realise this, had gone mad or Marik had manipulated him in more ways by making him see his fiancée instead of the fake.

"Just what's going on here?" Yugi asked. I was surprised that the boy didn't understanding what was going on but as Yami had proven at the museum the two minds didn't always share everything so it might be possible that Yugi didn't know about Marik, he then walked forward slightly. "Pandora-san?" Yugi tentatively asked. Pandora then stood up and turned towards us but the blankness in his eyes and the eye on his forehead indicated Marik as in control.

"Why'd you go and do **that**?" Pandora/Marik questioned. I promptly put myself in between Yugi and Pandora so that if Marik tried anything then he would have to go through me first. "You're the vessel for the other Yugi, am I right?" Pandora/Marik continued. Meanwhile Yugi was somewhat surprised by the change in personality and wondered who this was. "I see. You weren't conscious when we met earlier today, my name is Marik," Pandora/Marik introduced. Yugi repeated that name.

"To sum it up, he's a crazy person obsessed with getting Yami's power, wields the Millennium Rod capable of controlling and manipulating minds and he's the boss of the Ghouls who took **my **Guardians," I explained quickly. Pandora/Marik then admitted he'd been the one who controlled Keith meaning that the man's freak out moments had be caused by this man and his reasoning was to prove Yami's existence. "That stunt nearly got me, Katherine and Yugi killed… bastard!" I growled.

"Why do you want to kill us?! Answer me!" Yugi demanded. Pandora/Marik claimed that it didn't concern Yugi and that he had business with Yami, Pandora/Marik explained that this business was revenge and he was supposedly the heir to a clan of Tomb Keepers who lived in darkness for three thousand years and that was why he wanted revenge. "Revenge? Clan of Tomb Keepers?" Yugi wondered.

"On the edge of the Necropolis in Egypt… we Tomb Guardians have lived apart from the world hiding in shadows, passing the task from mother to daughter and father to son. My clan must avoid all contact with the outside world, living only to protect the Millennium Items we were handed… and… we must die for this fate. We must return the Pharaoh's memory to his soul," Pandora/Marik explained. I didn't weaken my protective stance as the man spoke.

"Memory… does that mean the Pharaoh's memory stone tablet and the eight items are related?" Yugi wondered. Pandora/Marik confirmed this theory and that he held such a secret and was to guard it with his life due to his teachings as a child and finding the soul was difficult but apparently it could be summed up by whoever held the three Egyptian God cards, Pandora/Marik insisted he would kill the Pharaoh a second time and he would become the new Pharaoh.

"Basically, you want the Three God Cards to claim the position of Pharaoh in order to get back at him for your family serving him for three millennium and get rid of the real one. Not happening," I spat. Pandora/Marik ignored my words and explained the Ghouls had been formed for the purpose of getting him the God Cards and reminded me whilst informing Yugi of the locations of the three cards.

"I finally understand what it is the other me is looking for in this town. That's his lost memory," Yugi realised. Pandora/Marik once more stated his desire to claim the cards and kill Yugi causing me to glare at him in response yet the young boy behind me was silent for several moments with only the clinking of chain links sounding out. "Marik! I won't let you take away the other me's life! We'll fight!" Yugi declared.

However Pandora/Marik merely dismissed Yugi as a vessel and he'd die alongside the pharaoh, Pandora/Marik then revealed that a Rare Hunter in town had Osiris in his possession and he would appear before Yugi and Yami soon, our only warning was to beware the Silent Doll, with those final words Marik left and Pandora collapsed barely caught by me and Yugi. "We'll fight, in order to get back his lost memory!" Yugi promised.

At that moment the door finally burst open and Katherine, Mokuba, Sugoroku, Anzu and even Honda came in with then worried about our condition but I quickly waved them off and had Honda take Pandora to the hospital to treat him and hopefully they'd be able to do something about him and I then grabbed a hold of Katherine and Yugi.

"We three… technically four, need to talk," I insisted. With that I promptly hauled the two out of the building with little resistance from either of them.


	12. Chapter 12

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback.**

**Thank you to randomguy77 for reviewing, to Classic Lovers I'm not entirely sure how to make that work, but good luck with the idea**

Chapter 12: - Revenge is Bittersweet

After seizing a hold of me and Yugi, Kylie proceeded to drag the two of us – and by extension Yami – to the nearest park where she quickly took a seat as me and Yugi remained standing in front of her, clearly something had happened before me and the others arrived that required this urgent chat; Kylie proceeded to explain what had occurred during Yami's duel against Pandora and the conversation with Marik afterwards.

"You mean to tell me that the psychopath who is trying to kill us this time, is targeting Yugi because he wants Yami's title," I summarised. Kylie nodded her head in agreement to those words whilst Yugi looked unsettled, not that I blamed him given the death threat he'd received and the near death scenario he'd barely scraped away from. "Also we have to deal with this Silent Doll who has one of these God cards," I added on.

"Essentially yes," Kylie answered. I groaned and rubbed my hands over my face in exasperation at the insanity that was being tossed upon us because of some crazy person's desires, given the fact that there was some God card lying in wait for us because of Marik's goals made it clear he was as dogmatic as Uncle Pegasus had been. "We've got to be on our toes so that we aren't caught off guard when this Doll appears," Kylie stated.

"But Kylie-san we don't even know what this Silent Doll looks like," Yugi pointed out. Yugi glanced over to the seat beside Kylie where Yami was probably listening to our conversation and speaking to Yugi about what he thought of the conversation with Marik; I hadn't quite figured out the spell that would allow me to see the ancient spirit yet, or hear him for that matter.

"Yugi's right, we're practically blind to what this madman is up to, especially since we don't even where Marik is. He could be anywhere in Domino or not even in Domino for that matter thanks to that Millennium Item of his," I stated. Kylie nodded her head in understanding of our worries, but then I noticed Yugi turn pale as he looked at me. "Yugi?" I questioned.

"Behind you Katherine-chan!" Yugi exclaimed. Kylie was on her feet as quick as a flash whilst I spun around and took several steps backwards upon seeing that behind me was a towering individual clothed in the purple robe of the Ghouls who seemed to be breathing rather heavily implying that whoever this was had exerted a fair amount of energy quite recently.

"There you are! You fucking cheating whore!" The Ghoul yelled. I stumbled back slightly as I wondered what this person was talking about, a hand appeared on each of my shoulders but they were different in pressure and touch making it known that both Kylie and Yugi had reached out to me; I kept my eyes on the Ghoul before me wondering what would happen. "You'll pay for what you did to me," The Ghoul added.

"Wh-what ar-are yo-you tal-talking about?" I questioned. My stutter was born far more from fear than it was from shyness like it normally was, Kylie's grip tightened and I was surprised that she hadn't flung herself in front of me as a human shield as was her normal prerogative when in dangerous situations and this was definitely a dangerous situation; I noticed that the Ghoul's hands began to shake rapidly as if he was restraining himself from some kind of action.

"You don't remember!? The humiliation you gave me! You cheated I know you did! No way a brat like you could have beaten me through skill!" The Ghoul ranted. My eyebrows furrowed together in confusion at what this crazy person was babbling on about, his hand then rose up to his hood and he proceeded to practically rip it down revealing his face; he had reddish-brown hair that was in a buzz cut style, his sickly amber eyes gleamed with anger as they shot daggers at me. "Me, Jack Cross!" The man bellowed.

"Oh… hello again," I greeted. I barely remembered the man I'd faced in the quarter finals of Duelist Kingdom as it hadn't taken me long to defeat him, his casual disregard for his monsters and the lack of tactics he put into his duels made it far too easy for my friends and I to defeat him; recalling his words a frown appeared on my lips. "I didn't cheat, you're just unskilled!" I shot back. In response to my words a snarl appeared on Cross' face as his eyes burned brightly with anger.

"That's it! I challenge you to a duel! I've got a Puzzle card and Marik offered me the opportunity to defeat you so I'm taking it! You can't beat my new deck!" Cross yelled. He moved the cloak aside to reveal his Duel Disk and held up his Puzzle Card so I shook off Kylie and Yugi's hands and took a step forward as I pulled out one of my own Puzzle cards in order to show it to him.

"Fine. I'll beat you again, no amount of deck changes will help you if your own heart is cold as last time we dueled," I stated. Cross' teeth ground against each other whilst shocked voices echoed from behind me and I turned to look at my sister and Yugi seeing the concerned expressions that rested on both of their faces. "What's wrong?" I asked. Kylie's expression shifted into one of exasperation but Yugi kept looking at me worriedly.

"How do we know this psycho won't hook you up to some death trap like the one Yugi just got attached to!?" Kylie questioned. No doubt Pandora's latest actions weighed heavily on her mind but I couldn't ignore this opponent in front of us especially since he was a Ghoul and could possibly have one of my sister's missing Guardians was another reason to duel him.

"Are you going to stop me?" I challenged. Kylie's eyes widened and her mouth opened and closed several times as she looked at me completely stunned by the words that I had just spoken; eventually her mouth remained shut as she shook her head making it known that she wasn't going to interfere in the duel so I looked at Yugi who had been quiet so far. "And you, Yugi?" I asked. Yugi shot a hard and dark look at Cross before turning his attention back to me and his eyes softened greatly.

"No, Katherine-chan. But I don't like this, if I see you're in danger then I'm stopping this duel," Yugi stated. The boy's words were strong and forceful nearly making me think it was Yami I was talking to however the endless well of kindness radiating from the amethyst eyes confirmed it was indeed Yugi that was talking to me; in response I nodded my head and turned to face Cross who was sneering at us.

"We dueling or not!" Cross demanded. I nodded my head in answer to his crass demand and so we proceeded to activate our Duel Disks causing the Solid Vision projectors to shoot out and I immediately drew the first five cards with Cross following me shortly after with Cross' sneer turning into mocking smirk. "I'm going to pummel you and show you up for the cheating whore you really are," Cross declared.

**Jack – LP: 4000**

**Katherine – LP: 4000**

"I'm going first! Draw! I summon Steadfast Flame Star – Dongji in attack mode!" Cross announced. He proceeded to set the card onto the field causing the monster to be projected onto the field yet I was surprised as it was different to the archetype of monsters he'd used in our previous duel which meant I was fighting blind whilst he at least had some knowledge of me deck.

**Steadfast Flame Star – Dongji – Attribute: Fire, Type: Beast-Warrior, Level: 3, ATK/1500, DEF/100**

"I then set one card face down and end my turn!" Cross announced. The face down card appeared on the field and I wondered what it could possibly be, with a new deck staring me down I had to be cautious and treat this like a duel against someone I'd never seen before otherwise I might end up losing and I'd rather not find out what would happen to me if I lost. "Hurry up with your move bitch!" Cross snapped.

"Tactics aren't rushed you fool," I snapped back. Drawing a card from my deck I proceeded to gaze over it and then examined my hand, deciding on the move to make I proceeded to swap cards in order to start the move. "I set two cards face down and then I summon out Carer of Springs, Persephone in defence mode!" I announced. The two face downs were projected and then my monster emerged onto the field in a flurry of flower petals. "Turn end," I stated.

**Carer of Springs, Persephone – Attribute: Earth, Type: Plant, Level: 4, ATK/1200, DEF/1700**

The monster was a young woman with dark olivine skin, her hair was an earth brown hair that tumbled down her back and was braided with large amounts of different types of flowers that I couldn't name all of them but gladioli, hyacinths, daffodils and lilies were some of them, her eyes were a warm earth green shade; her dress was a deep black shade woven with roses, crocuses, violets and irises off setting it whilst flowers and grain seeds were scattered around her feet and in her hands was a vibrant red skinned pomegranate.

"Is **that **all you can do!?" Cross spat. He then drew his card and proceeded to swap his cards around before making his move. "I set one card face down and summon out Minute Flame Star – Longshijin!" Cross announced. The cards appeared on the field although I did wonder what the man could be up to with those face downs he was planting. "Now I switch Steadfast Flame Star – Dongji to attack mode and activate my Trap, Flame Dance – Kaiyo!" Cross carried on. The first face down he activated proceeded to rise up as blue flames flared out from it as his monster rose from its' defensive position.

**Minute Flame Star – Longshijin – Attribute: Fire, Type: Beast-Warrior, Level: 4, ATK/1800, DEF/400**

"On the turn its' activated Flame Dance – Kaiyo allows a Beast-Warrior type to deal piercing damage but even after that effect fades, all Beast-Warrior types will gain three hundred attack points," Cross explained. I lightly clicked my tongue against my teeth since this meant he was most likely going to be unleashing two attack against me this turn. "Now Dongji attack and destroy her Persephone!" Cross ordered.

**Minute Flame Star – Longshijin – ATK/1800 – ATK/2100**

**Steadfast Flame Star – Dongji – ATK/1500 – ATK/1800**

The warrior came rushing towards my monster with silvery flames spurting from his form which coalesced into the shape of a rooster, the monster swung its' blade through Persephone who let out a slight scream as she was destroyed but in that moment my fingers hit one of my face downs causing it to activate and as a result Dongji was destroyed.

**Katherine – LP: 4000 – LP: 3900**

"What!? What just happened?" Cross demanded. His eyes were drawn to the card I'd activated which had risen up and from it was projected a pair of bronze scales with the centre looking more like a dagger than its' normal appearance was. "What kind of Trap is that?" Cross demanded. The trap was a fairly simple one but also one of impressive consequences for those that attacked my monsters.

"Retribution. When a monster I control is destroyed via battle, the attacking monster is destroyed as well. Also by destroying Persephone you activated her effect which allows me to add Ruler of Underworld Hades to my hand," I explained. Cross' eyes narrowed in response to my words, however Retribution was a Counter Trap and thus it faded away to my Graveyard. " Now what will you do?" I asked. Cross sneered at me but he warily looked at my face down wondering if perhaps it was another Trap that would stop his attacks or destroy his remaining monster.

"I end my turn," Cross stated. I was rather surprised at his choice of move as the last time I'd sprung a Trap on him and still had a face down on the field he flung his monster in headlong without even thinking about it, perhaps he had managed to learn something since we last duel… that or Marik was subtly controlling him and it was too weak for us to detect.

"Very well then, my turn! Draw!" I responded. Pulling a card from my deck I looked at it and proceeded to slide the card into the Magic and Trap zone to activate it. "First off I activate Angel's Charity letting me draw three cards in exchange for discarding two. I set two cards face down then activate Resurrection of the Dead allowing me to summon back the Carer of Harvests, Demeter to return to my field in attack mode then I summon Twin of Moon Artemis in defence mode," I started. The cards and new monster appeared on my field in a whirl on grains.

**Carer of Harvests, Demeter – Attribute: Earth, Type: Plant, Level: 6, ATK/2000, DEF/2500**

**Twin of Moon, Artemis – Attribute: Light, Type: Warrior, Level: 4, ATK/2000, DEF/2000**

The newest goddess had skin that bordered between olivine and dark, her hair was an equally earthly shade with her eyes matching her hair yet they held a warm gleam to them, a gentle smile rested on her lips as her hands were rugged from hard work, she wore a green Grecian dress that was muddied at the bottom, in her hands was a horn that was overflowing with food and flowers.

"It's my turn! Draw! I activate the Magic card, Flame Dance – Tensu which allows me an additional Normal Summon alongside the one I already have and it grants an extra one hundred attack points to all Beast-Warrior Types," Cross revealed. Well that was going to be annoying, fortunately it seemed that even though these were Permanent Magic and Trap cards that only applied to the power up they gave and not the first effects listed on the card. "I summon out Fire King Beast Yaksha and Fire King Beast Ganesha in attack mode!" Cross announced.

**Fire King Beast Ganesha – Attribute: Fire, Type: Beast-Warrior, Level: 4, ATK/1800, DEF/200**

**Fire King Beast Yaksha – Attribute: Fire, Type: Beast-Warrior, Level: 4, ATK/1800, DEF/200**

**Fire King Beast Ganesha – ATK/1800 – ATK/2200**

**Fire King Beast Yaksha – ATK/1800 – ATK/2200**

**Minute Flame Star – Longshijin – ATK/2100 – ATK/2200**

"Now Fire King Beast Yaksha attack her Demeter and destroy it!" Cross commanded. However I immediately activated one of my face downs which was Attack Nullification thus stopping the attack from getting through and forcing the battle phase to end, Cross gritted his teeth together quite forcefully in response. "I end my turn," Cross growled out.

"My turn! Draw! I activate the Magic card Warrior's Counsel which allows me to Special Summon another Warrior-Type to the field, so long as I have one already on the field! I summon out Maiden of Wisdom, Athena!" I announced. My ace monster appeared on the field in all her gleaming armour and brilliant dress, she glanced back at me with a smile on her soft her lips and determination in her grey eyes.

**Maiden of Wisdom, Athena – Attribute: Earth, Type: Warrior, Level: 8, ATK/2800, DEF/2700**

"Next I activate Remove Trap to destroy your Flame Dance – Kaiyo!" I announced. The chosen card was destroyed and as a result Cross' monster lost the most significant of their power up thus reducing their powers to a level below that of all my monsters which meant that they were easy pickings for me to destroy. "Now I switch Twin of Moon Artemis into attack mode. I'm going to attack with all my monsters. First Twin of Moon, Artemis attack Minute Star – Longshijin with Moon Beam!" I commanded. My moon goddess gathered silvery energy in hands before sending it flying forward blasting through the humanoid warrior.

**Jack – LP: 4000 – LP: 3900**

**Fire** **King Beast Ganesha – ATK/2200 – ATK/1900**

**Fire King Beast Yaksha – ATK/2200 – ATK/1900**

**Minute Flame Star – Longshijin – ATK/2200 – ATK/1900**

"Carer of Harvests, Demeter attack Fire King Beast Ganesha with Harvest Storm!" I commanded. The agriculture goddess raised one of her hands into the air causing grains and seeds to appear around the limb which she flung down sending the objects towards the monster and the small produce punched through elephant beast until it was reduced to nothing. "Maiden of Wisdom, Athena deal the final blow with Spear of Battle," I finished. Athena lifted her spear up with the tip pointed directly at the chosen target as energy wrapped around the weapon whilst the female warrior adjusted her stance in order to throw it, Athena reeled her arm back and then proceeded to send the spear flying and it punched a hole through Fire King Beast Yaksha. "I end my turn," I stated.

**Jack – LP: 3900 – LP: 3800**

**Jack – LP: 3800 – LP: 2900**

However instead of being despondent or angry about losing all of his monsters and a decent chunk of his Life Points thanks to my back to back attacks, Cross actually began to laugh of all thinks which caused me to blink owlishly whilst I heard Kylie making a whistling sound so I glanced back to see her pointing at her temple with her index finger and spinning it around; clearly she thought Cross had lost it and I was inclined to agree, Yugi looked greatly confused by the sudden bout of mad laughter that had been brought onto the Ghoul.

"Thanks brat, that is exactly what I wanted you to do. Now I can bring out my strongest monster and utterly destroy you. I draw!" Cross declared. He drew the card and I was both deeply confused and greatly concerned by his words, either he'd gone completely bonkers or he really did have some plan involved. "I activate the Field Magic Fire King Island!" Cross announced. Our surrounding immediately changed causing ruins to appear close to us whilst a volcano rose high into the sky behind the Ghoul. " I can activate one of this card's two effects and I choose to activate the one that allows me to Special Summon a Fire Attribute Avian Beast Type monster from my hand," Cross stated.

"Oh boy," Kylie commented. The man proceeded to bring out the monster that was probably his new ace and he called it Fire King God Beast Garudonix, fortunately since it was an Avian Beast that meant it would be unaffected by the Flame Dance card that was on the field and quite probably the one that was face down, that still meant I was staring down a towering flying beast but it wasn't unbeatable.

**Fire King God Beast Garudonix – Attribute: Fire, Type: Avian Beast, Level: 8, ATK/2700, DEF/1700**

"Now I activate my Magic Card, Back Up Rider. This raises Garudonix's attack by one thousand, five hundred until the end of the turn," Cross announced. I had to hold back a curse that was bubbling in my throat but it didn't stop my sister from letting the first syllable of one slip out before she clamped her mouth shut stopping it from getting out whilst Yugi called out my name with worry thick in his tone as panic surged through our bond.

**Fire King God Beast Garudonix – ATK/2700 – ATK/4200**

"Garudonix attack Maiden of Wisdom, Athena!" Cross commanded. The massive winged beast opened its' beak causing fire to begin gathering in its' mouth and my last face down wasn't something that could block the attack so unfortunately I had to watch with gritted teeth as Athena was destroyed by the fiery attack and the shockwave that rolled over me. "I end my turn," Cross stated. His lips were curled into a malicious grin that caused my ire to spike rapidly.

**Katherine – LP: 3900 – LP: 2500**

**Fire King God Beast Garudonix – ATK/4200 – ATK/2700**

"Good, because you're finished!" I hissed. Cross chuckled as if he didn't believe my words however I didn't respond and instead proceeded to draw my card and looking at it I could begin launching my counterattack and win this duel. "First I activate my face down card Lightning Vortex! By discarding one card I can destroy all monsters on your field so say goodbye to Garudonix!" I declared. As I slid one of my card into the Graveyard a swirling storm appeared over the winged beast and lightning arced down destroying it causing Cross' face to twist into one of shock.

"I'm not done yet, now I Release Carer of Harvests, Demeter and Twin of Moon, Artemis in order to Advance Summon Ruler of Underworld, Hades!" I declared. The monster that had come to my hand so early on was finally being brought out to fight as my two female monsters transformed into light which formed into the pale and terrifying monster.

**Ruler of Underworld, Hades – Attribute: Dark, Type: Demon, Level: 8, ATK/2600, DEF/2650**

"First I'm going to activate Ruler of Underworld, Hades effect. By discarding my hand one thousand Life points are stripped away from you," I stated. My tone had turned icy as I glared at the Ghoul and Cross managed to squawk out a what in response to my words; the eerie smoke appeared surging out towards the defenceless man and stripping him of his Life Points.

**Jack – LP: 2900 – LP: 1900**

"Now Hades attack with Metal of the Underworld!" I commanded. The king knelt down and touched the ground before throwing his hand forward causing metal spike to shoot out and plough over Cross' practically empty field and smashed into him causing him to be sent flying backwards as a result of the attack with his Life points being successfully depleted.

**Jack – LP: 1900 – LP: 0**

"You may have grown a little but throwing your lot in with the Ghouls was pointless and wasteful," I condemned. Kylie then dashed forward and routed through the man, clearly not willing to risk putting me in danger by being near such a man, she came back with one Puzzle card and another card which she handed to me so I put them away but didn't move away. "Hello Marik," I greeted.

Both Kylie and Yugi exclaimed a significantly loud what but in response to my words Cross' body proceeded to get up in a jerk and shaky manner proving he was being controlled before any of us even saw the glowing eye symbol on the man's forehead but then Marik began to laugh which was transmitted through the controlled Ghoul.

"This was merely a test of your strength Katherine Hope, the Millennium Gauntlet is a dangerous item but oh so dependent on the wielder's strength and-," Marik began to speak. However I quickly cut the connection causing the body to drop to the ground now that the invasive influence had been forced out of Cross.

"Like any of us need to hear your poison outside of a duel," I spat. The recent incident with Pandora still hung in my mind and I **really** didn't feel like listening to him at the moment, I turned around to look at my friend and sister with a smile plastered on my face and my eyes closed. "There's still some time left, so how about we search for some more opponents," I suggested. When neither of them responded my smile faded away and I opened my eyes allowing me to see that they looking at me before Kylie smirked.

"Damn Kathie, that was pretty cool," Kylie stated. We all proceeded to laugh at my sister's words before splitting up to go and search some more before Battle City's first day came to a close.


	13. Chapter 13

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback.**

**Thank you to randomguy77 for reviewing. I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 13: - True Queen of Duelists

Walking through Domino City I hoped to come across another of the scumbags who had my Guardians, my joy over finding Seiryu had been dampened by the run in with Pandora and the warning that Marik had delivered to us about a God card being in town, I wondered where such a powerful creature could be hiding as I recalled the surge of power that I'd felt before Yami's match against the psycho masked Ghoul.

The Silent Doll, that was our only clue as to who we were meant to watching out for but what that meant I had no idea, was it a mute that couldn't speak, a doll looking individual that spoke so quietly it was almost silent; I almost felt like ripping my hair out from the stress I was currently dealing with seeing as I couldn't figure out the mad mastermind's damned riddles… I guess the only thing to do was keep looking for the Ghouls.

"Ah! I finally found you!" A feminine voice declared. I stilled in my movements and felt every muscle in my body tense up upon hearing those words, I silently began praying that the voice didn't belong to who I thought it was and I proceeded to carry on walking hoping that it was indeed my imagination. "Hold it Kylie Hope!" The same female voice demanded. Barely restraining a groan at my awful luck I turned around to look at the source of my discomfort.

It was an woman of Asian descent probably around the same age as Mai, she had tanned skin with brown eyes and black hair that was put in two buns except for two long pieces of hair that framed her face clasped by plain golden cylinders and golden earrings, she wore a knee length signature Chinese yellow dress that had red at the edging of the sleeves and collars and two bracelets on her right wrist, one pink and one white, whilst red high heels adorned her bare feet.

"Ah… what do **you **want Vivian," I practically groaned. Vivian Wong, an Asian duelist that I'd run into far too many times to count and right from our first meeting the damned woman had rubbed me the wrong way and that had resulted in us becoming enemies with me beating Vivian every time we met in a tournament. "Look I'm busy and don't have time to deal with you, now scram," I commented. With those words I turned to walk away from the annoying woman.

"Oh, is the great Kylie Hope scared," Vivian mocked. Her insinuation of me being scared caused me to still as I turned back around to glare at the woman causing the Asian to smirk at this fact whilst I planted my hand on my hip as the annoying person opened her mouth once more. "You know everyone's been calling you the Queen of Duelists but… **I** just **can't** accept that!" Vivian carried on.

"And? I've beaten you every time we've dueled so what is your problem except for your foolish pride?" I questioned. Vivian's body began to tremble as a tick mark appeared on her head however I didn't really care about this, Vivian had always been so annoying but I at least thought that she had enough common sense to not argue about something as pointless as titles, especially when ownership of said titles was an indisputable face.

"My **problem**! That is that whilst you were away at Duelist Kingdom, I had defeated **THE **Clan of the Nine Dragon Duelists! I **am **the strongest Duelist in all of Asia! Yet it is **you**! **You** who is called the **Queen** of Duelists! I am stronger than in the past and you can't defeat me this time! I demand we duel with your title on the line…" Vivian ranted. However she ended up trailing off as her face took on a red hue and she kicked one of her legs up whilst cupping her face. "And of course Yugi-kun!" Vivian added on. However this time her tone was higher pitched and cheery which caused a sweat drop to appear on my head.

"Y-Yugi… what the hell does he have to do with this?" I asked. I instantly felt a well of pity and worry spring up for the petite boy concerning what he had done to garner the crazy Asian woman's attention, there was also the question as to what the poor boy had to do with this whole argument, Vivian's mind worked in very strange and mysterious ways sometimes.

"Simple. Once I defeat you and become the Queen I can make Yugi into my love slave. Kaiba as well," Vivian explained. However the words 'love slave' ended up causing my mind to grind to a halt as I tried to process those words until Andromeda sent a shock of her power through me which startled me back to reality and I blinked my eyes a few times only to confirm that Vivian was locked in some kind of crazy fantasy.

"Ok… well as Yugi's friend I have a duty to keep him free of your claws so let's do this, if you've really change I'll soon find out. But I'm **still** going to win. How about we bet all our Puzzle cards, I've got two already," I commented. This snapped the Asian out of her trance and she agreed whilst revealed she also had two so we both proceeded to activate our Duel Disks as we both drew our hands to start this duel. "You can go first and show me how you 'grown'," I offered. Vivian gained a tick mark on her head as she let out a humph.

**Kylie – LP: 4000**

**Vivian – LP: 4000**

"Fine but you better not regret making that offer! I draw!" Vivian responded. She proceeded to remove a card from her deck and looked at it before examining what she had in her hands before removing a card from her hand. "I summon Dark Dragon in attack mode and set one card face down!" Vivian announced. The chosen monster was projected onto the field alongside the face down card.

**Dark Dragon – Attribute: Dark, Type: Dragon, Level: 3, ATK/1500, DEF/800**

"Draw!" I stated. Drawing the card I looked over the options I had available and I removed a card from my hand and I slid it into the Magic and Trap zone. "First off I activate Angel's Charity allowing me to draw three cards in exchange for discarding two, I then set three cards face down and end my turn," I announced. The three cards that I had set were all in the Magic/Trap zone which served to bring a confused expression to Vivian's face… it was always fun confusing and angering the annoying woman when I made moves she couldn't understand.

"AH! You and your annoying antics! I'm going to crush you with my power!" Vivian ranted. She then drew a card from her deck to start her turn and proceeded to lower her hand to her Disk in order to activate the face down that she had. "I activate Cyclone to destroy one of your face downs!" Vivian announced. The Magic card rose up and the high speed winds whipped around smashing into the card to my left revealing it was Monster Recovery. "Now I activate my second face down Mystic Eruption! When a Magic or Trap card is destroy this deals One Thousand points of damage to the controller!" Vivian announced.

**Kylie – LP: 4000 – LP: 3000**

Raising my arms, I had braced myself against the attack that had nearly ploughed me to the ground from the force that was behind the attack and I gritted my teeth during the barrage, once it receded Vivian called out her attack so I swiftly acted by pressing one of the buttons on my Duel Disk to activate one of my face downs, causing the card to rise up revealing a shield enwreathed in flames and giving of gleams of light.

"I don't think so! I activate my face-down Trap, Blazing Guardian! When my opponent declares an attack I can use this to summon a Light or Fire Attribute monster in my graveyard! Come forth Lynx!" I announced. I'd discarded the monster through Angel's Charity thus allowing me to summon the monster to my field in attack position, as a result Vivian called off her assault.

**Lynx – Attribute: Light, Type: Beast/Thunder, Level: 7, ATK/2400, DEF/2100**

"I'm not done thought! Activate Quick-Play Magic, Emergency Provisions. By sacrificing a Magic or Trap card I gain one thousand Life Points. I'll be sacrificing Blazing Guardian which means its' secondary effect won't activate allowing me to keep Lynx on the field," I continued on. Vivian gritted her teeth together as my Trap card dissolved into nothingness causing my Life Points to rise back to their original point thus undoing her work.

**Kylie – LP: 3000 – LP: 4000**

Vivian ended her turn allowing me to take control of this duel so I drew a card and looked over the available possibilities so I made my first move by summoning out Aquila onto the field in attack mode and I then slid a new face down into my Magic/Trap zone in preparation for Vivian's retaliation that was sure to come after I made the move that I was about to.

**Aquila – Attribute: Wind, Type: Avian Beast, Level: 4, ATK/1600, DEF/1300**

"Now, Aquila, attack Dark Dragon with Star's Talons!" I commanded. My bird flapped his wings and soared towards the scaled beast who attempted to snap at the avian but Aquila was too fast and succeeded in driving his sharp talons deep into the dragon's flesh and destroying the beast meaning that Vivian was defenceless. "And Lynx follow up with a direct attack! Constellation Storm!" I added. My feline beast charged in with his body caked in lightning and it body slammed into the annoying woman sending her flying onto her back.

**Vivian – LP: 4000 – LP: 3900**

**Vivian – LP: 3900 – LP: 1500**

"Well it looks like you're the same old duelist that you always were. Look forfeit this duel and maybe you can salvage whatever remains of your frail pride," I suggested. However in response to my suggestion Vivian let out an enraged shriek before rising to her feet as she proceeded to glare at me with all her anger.

"Like hell I will! I'm taking you down, right now!" Vivian yelled. As she did the Asian woman drew a card from her deck and she proceeded to play one card face down whilst summoning out Kung Fu Nyan Nyan in defence mode which was a monster that I was already familiar with due to the numerous times the two of us had dueled in the past; Vivian then proceeded to end her turn by playing a face down.

**Kung Fu Nyan Nyan – Attribute: Earth, Type: Warrior, Level: 4, ATK/1700, DEF/1000**

'If Nyan Nyan is out on the field, that means she's probably building up to bring out her ace. That means her face down is a card to stall my moves.' I thought. Making my move by drawing a card I looked at it and was almost surprised by the card that I'd drawn but with this monster I'd be able to stop Vivian's moves in her tracks.

"Alright I Release my Aquila in order to Advance Summon Sagittarius!" I announced. The avian beast was turned into an orb of light before rising into the sky allowing my centaur to descend to the ground in his proud glory as he came to stand alongside my Lynx; all that had to be done now was to activate Sagittarius' effect although that would cost me any ability to attack this turn, but I didn't intend to attack since I lacked a card to destroy face downs at the moment.

**Sagittarius – Attribute: Earth, Type: Beast-Warrior, Level: 5, ATK/2100, DEF/2000**

"I activate Sagittarius' effect! By Tributing my Lynx I'm allowed to destroy one of your monsters, so say goodbye to Kung Fu Nyan Nyan!" I continued. Lynx was turned into a small ball of yellow-white light and flew over to Sagittarius entering the tip of the arrow that was held out which caused it to glow the same colour as the orb and Sagittarius knocked it on his bow. "Destroy Kung Fu Nyan Nyan with Piercing Arrow!" I ordered. The centaur unleashed the arrow which pierced through Vivian's monster destroying it. "I end my turn," I stated.

"Don't think you'll knock me down for long Kylie!" Vivian promised. She quickly drew a card from her deck and looked at it before moving it into her hand and removing another card. "The Goddess of Victory has chosen me Kylie Hope! I summon out Master Jiangshi in defence mode!" Vivian declared. The other monster necessary for Vivian to bring out her Dragon Lady appeared on the field.

**Master Jiangshi – Attribute: Earth, Type: Undead, Level: 4, ATK/1750, DEF/1000**

"I then activate Resurrection of the Dead to bring back Kung Fu Nyan Nyan!" Vivian carried on. The monster I'd just destroyed was brought back to the field and I already knew where this was going to go so I lightly pressed my teeth against the right corner of my bottom lip as I waited for Vivian to finish her move. "I activate the Magic Card Luminous Clouds, by Tributing Kung Fu Nyan Nyan and Master Jiangshi, I can summon out Dragon Lady," Vivian announced. The luminous scenery swallowed up the monsters and summoned forth the strongest monster that Vivian had.

**Dragon Lady – Attribute: Light, Type: Warrior, Level: 7, ATK/2500, DEF/2100**

"Dragon Lady attack Sagittarius!" Vivian commanded. However in that instant the Trap that I'd set a few turns back activated causing it to rise up and a red caped and hooded figure holding a small stringed instrument known as a Lyre was projected onto the field; the figure proceeded to strum the instrument causing a melodic tune to echo out and it froze Dragon Lady's attack in an instant. "You're kidding! You already had that set!" Vivian shrieked in disbelief.

"Of course I did. I knew that no matter your words you'd attempt to bring out Dragon Lady to defeat me so I set my Permanent trap, Lyra. As I'm sure you recall it stops all Warrior, Beasts and Beast-Warriors from attacking and in two turns Lyra will destroy your monster. As they say, music soothes the savage soul," I responded. Vivian was shaking with barely suppressed rage and she was forced to end her turn as a result of not being able to do anything thanks to my Trap.

"Finally it's my move. I draw!" I commented. Drawing a card from my deck I thought over what to do, using Lyra to stop the attacks was good but Vivian was likely to have a plan in mind to overcome the Trap so I had to figure out a way to defeat Dragon Lady before Vivian could get it to move again. "First I activate my own Resurrection of the Dead to bring back Aquila!" I started. The winged beast appeared on the field however neither it or Sagittarius would be sticking around for long. "I Release Aquila and Sagittarius in order to summon out Andromeda in attack mode!" I announced. As when I summoned Sagittarius the two monsters turned into orbs and allowed my trusted partner to emerge onto the field.

**Andromeda – Attribute: Light, Type: Magician, Level: 7, ATK/2600, DEF/2300**

"I then activate Astrological Gift! This allows my Andromeda to gain three hundred extra attack and defence points!" I continued on. With the activated card a star like glow came to surround my monster giving Andromeda an ethereal look, upon seeing Vivian Andromeda turned her head back to look at me with an eyebrow raised; she was probably confused by me dueling against Vivian since she knew of my dislike for the woman.

**Andromeda – ATK/2600 – ATK/2900, DEF/2300 – DEF/2600**

"Now Andromeda attack Dragon Lady! Constellation Flash!" I declared. The starlight gathered in Andromeda's palms as she then threw the gathered energy towards the warrior. "Oh by the way, during damage calculation Astrological Gift grants half the attack of the monster that Andromeda attacks," I added on. Vivian's expression twisted into shock as the attack ploughed through her ace monster.

**Andromeda – ATK/2900 – ATK/4150**

The damage calculation had been entered and a glow of starlight shone down on my partner as she concentrated her power into her cupped hands with Vivian's face becoming lit up in its' pale light with her expression twisted into one of shock and disbelief along with a hint of fear as she realised that the difference between Dragon Lady's attack and Andromeda's second power increased was enough to secure my victory; Andromeda launched her attack which slammed into Vivian and sent her flying backwards and onto the ground.

**Vivian – LP: 1500 – LP: 0**

"A slight improvement in your skills won't give you enough ability to defeat me. Whilst you were playing around with the Clan of the Nine… whatever, I was facing off against True Duelists, Yugi is so far out of your league that you defeating him is inconceivable especially if you can't defeat me, my little sister and apprentice could defeat you with more ease. Grow up Vivian and run back to Asia," I stated. I wasn't one to mock or degrade opponents unless they deserved it but Vivian certainly knew how to punch my buttons quite violently.

Walking over I bent down and picked up her two offered Puzzle Cards, now I had a total of four which meant only two more would guarantee that I would be able to enter into the finals and could help Yami and Yugi take down Marik and hopefully stop whatever insanity the madman was attempting to create by taking the power of the Pharaoh… whatever that damn well implied and I assume it had something to do with the God Cards and the Millennium Puzzle from what that tablet me and Yami saw at the museum depicted.

Twisting around I proceeded to walk off whilst pocketing the Puzzle Cards, the sun was going down which meant Battle City was over for the day so I decided to head home.


	14. Chapter 14

**Good Day Readers and apologises for the major delay, I've had difficulty accessing my laptop recently so sorry about this. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback.**

**Thank you to randomguy77 for reviewing, as for Marik doing something he actually won't; the only reason Katherine had sever the mind control so easily is because Marik is still far away but once he gets closer that will be MUCH harder and far more risky for her to do. I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 14: - The God Combo

"Jounouchi-kun!" Yugi called when he spotted the blonde. The aforementioned boy was running towards us and proceeded to greet us with him and Mai sharing a high five with the two discussing their progress in the tournament with Mai revealing that she had four puzzle cards after Jounouchi had told the blonde woman to worry about herself instead of him, which shocked him.

"It's not that weird, I've four as well," Kylie admitted. She showed off her collection which caused the blonde boy's mouth to drop further, the rest of us brought out our cards and it turned out me and Yugi had three each whilst Jounouchi had the least at two, it was clear that Mai and Kylie were the closest of us to get in which didn't surprise me.

"Out of the five of us, I'm still the lowest…," Jounouchi complained. However he bounced back just as quickly so we proceeded to move on discussing the state of the tournament, at least half would have been weeded out by now but it was most likely more so Mai insisted that none of us should be standing around wasting time and Jounouchi was the first one to take off.

"Guys, Girls, don't disappear before the Finals ok," Mai commented. She then blew a kiss – whether it was for us all or just the boys or just Jounouchi I don't know – she then took off as well, a few moments passed before they both disappeared so Kylie walked a few steps away from the both of us before she spun back around to look at us.

"I'm going to get going too. Genbu's been agitated all day so Suzaku or Byakko might be nearby," Kylie stated. I nodded my head understanding my sister's desire to locate her Guardians now that they were so tantalisingly close, Kylie began to walk off but she suddenly stopped and spun back around. "And remember, all **three** of you. Beware the Silent Doll… whatever that means," Kylie added on. With those final words my sister left the two of us to our own devices.

"Well, I guess it's time I left too. Good luck to you and Yami, Yugi… I'll let you known if I see a God card," I commented. With my parting done I made a move to leave however a hand suddenly wrapped around my wrist which caused me to jerk backwards so I turned around to see Yugi holding it with a worried expression on his face. "Yugi, what's wrong?" I asked. The young boy looked absolutely worried, borderline terrified, and I was both concerned and confused.

"Katherine-chan, please… be careful. I know you're a strong duelist, one of the best actually but… thinking about you, alone, against Marik's Ghouls… I can't help but worry, it's like my heart is twisting at the mere thought," Yugi admitted. A small blush rose to my cheeks at that statement before I allowed myself to smile brightly at the sweet boy.

"Oh Yugi, two things; one, that is very sweet of you and I worry about you as well because of this whole mess and two, I'm never alone, not so long as I have this," I responded. At my last set of words I brought up my deck pouch and, even though they were unseen by Yugi's eyes, several of my Duel Spirits manifested themselves; almost as if he sensed their presence Yugi smiled and nodded his head before letting me go and so I took off.

Since I only needed to three puzzle cards to enter the finals I was moving through Domino City looking for my next opponent, however a good deal of time must have passed due to the height that the sun had climb although I wasn't really paying attention since I wanted to find an opponent but it would appear everyone was either in a duel already or intimidated by my three card carrying status as they made sure not to meet my eyes.

Eventually I came to a stop after crossing a bridge and I let my eyes drift down to the river that ran passed and my eyes widened upon seeing Yugi standing by the bank with his back to me so I closed my eyes and let my magic focus into my eyes before opening them, they now had a slight golden glow to them as I knew from experience; this little spell allowed me to see Yami standing by Yugi with his image being transparent.

Deciding to say hello to the boy I jogged down the steps leading to the bank and over to where the boy stood with the ancient spirit that he shared his body with, as I got close I heard Yugi speaking – although the softness with which he spoke caused some words to be lost – which meant that Yami must have been answering but his words would have been heard only by Yugi due to their bond.

"… though I may not be able to do much," Yugi admitted. Even though I had caught the last part of a conversation I was upset by the boy's lack of belief in himself especially given that he'd done some incredible things since I met him especially when I recalled the Shadow Game he endured against Pegasus despite it practically killing him in the process.

"That's not true at all," I insisted. Because I'd pretty much sneaked up on the boy from behind, my sudden words caused Yugi to jump and near enough fall into the river so I rushed over and managed to grab him in time but that didn't stop the giggles from escaping me as I recalled his shocked expression. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," I apologised. Once Yugi recovered from the unintentional fright he looked at me.

"It's ok Katherine-chan, but what did you mean when you said it wasn't true?" Yugi wondered. I didn't blame him from being confused by my words, meanwhile Yami smiled slightly as he watched the two of us converse although I think that Yami said something as well from the way that Yugi's eyes drifted back slightly before the amethyst orbs locked onto me.

"Everyone is strong in their own way Yugi, physical or emotional or mental strength are just umbrella terms with a wide range of different attributes under them. Yami might be emotionally strong in the courage and assertive sense but you're emotionally strong in the compassionate and loving sense. The two of you balance each other out, kind of like your both two halves of the same whole," I explained. Yugi blushed slightly as a small smile came onto his face, however at that moment a chill ran up my spine.

Yami also began to look around before fading and Yugi got to searching and he commented something was coming, both of us turn towards the bridge just in time to see someone leap from it towards the us; Yugi moved forward slightly so I followed him allowing us to come parallel to the individual as he landed, I immediately noted the Duel Disk strapped to his left arm.

This person was bald with has pointed ears and perpetually wide eyes which were surrounded by heavy black circles and had very small blue pupils; he has many piercings all over his head: three near his right eye, one on each ear, three near his lip, one nose ring, and one lip piercing. He wore a black shirt and red pants with yellow suspenders, he had a green bag across his chest with large black shoes on his feet and had four studded cuffs on his arms, one at his wrist and one near his shoulder on each arm, he also wore a chain around his neck with a keyhole pendant at the bottom; the golden eye of Wedjet shining on his forehead, me and Yugi immediately caught on that this was Marik's minion.

"Vessel Yugi… so we meet again. And you, you are the wielder of the Millennium Gauntlet," Marik spoke. Me and Yugi stated the man's name causing his puppet to let out a small sound. "You both remember. Right. I'm the one controlling this Doll. It's Marik and this Silent Doll, is merely an empty shell," Marik explained. Naturally the both of us were shocked by the admission about the individual basically being dead but at least now I knew what the Doll looked like… wait a minute, I recall him from somewhere else… HE WAS AT OUR MEETING PLACE!

Marik explained that through the power of the Millennium Rod, Doll had essentially been removed of all emotion which divested him of all individuality; I felt like being violently sick upon hearing that as this wasn't something I could undo, fortunately Yami took that moment to assume control of Yugi's body and upon emerging dealt a harsh glare straight at the puppet and the mastermind behind him.

"Unforgivable! You're misusing the power of the Millennium Items for your own gain! I won't forgive you! Marik!" Yami declared. Marik insisted that this battle had been destined for three thousand years. "If this duel is destined, I have no choice but to accept. I'll accept this duel," Yami responded. He then turned towards me and have me a stern look not unlike the one my sister would give me. "Do not get involved Katherine, I don't want you to be hurt," Yami insisted. I raised my hands in the sign of surrender.

"Trust me I know a lost battle when I see it. Arguing with you is like arguing with my sister and Seto, I'd have better luck moving Everest with my bare hands," I conceded. Marik then spoke up stating that if he were to win the duel, the Doll would kill Yami and be extension of sharing the same body, Yugi as well and it didn't matter where Yami would flee to and that caused my body to become as cold as ice before my eyes became daggers.

"Never happening. I'll keep them safe no matter what," I decided. Yami was confident he'd win the duel, having seemingly forgotten that as this was the warned of Silent Doll, then his deck contained a God Card, fortunately Yugi spoke up and reminded the ancient spirit of this fact; although Yami seemed confused by those two words before confidently declaring that he would defeat God.

"Pride is a great sin if taken too far," I warned. Yami gave me a raised eyebrow in response before turning his attention back to the duel, it might have been vague but it was true that this spirit had an immense amount of pride, less than Seto's own pride due to his ability to work with others but it seemed Yami didn't really know how to lose if the duel against Seto back in Duelist Kingdom was any example; the two duelists inserted their decks and the Life Points were set so I settled myself on the grassy bank nearby.

**Doll – LP: 4000**

**Yugi – LP: 4000**

"I draw first!" Marik declared. He removed his first card and then turned his attention to his opponent. "Here I come! I set one reverse card! Then I summoned Humanoid Slime in attack mode!" Marik announced. The two cards became projected with the monster being rather true to its' name in the Slime section, less so in the Humanoid bit since it seemed more like a stick figure blob than a human.

**Humanoid Slime – Attribute: Water, Type: Aqua, Level: 4, ATK/800, DEF/2000**

Marik declared his turned ended but I was concerned by the moves that he'd made as Humanoid Slime's low attack made little sense for it to be put in attack mode, that probably meant that the set card was some kind of trap so Yami shouldn't attack on his turn… or conversely he should attack because this was all a ruse by Marik to trick Yami into pulling back and letting Marik advance his plans.

"My turn!" Yami declared. He drew a card and looked at it before returning his attention to his opponent's field as if debating what move he should make now. "I set one reverse card. Then I'll summon this guy, Phantom Beast King Gazelle in attack mode!" Yami announced. With that done Yami proceeded to end his turn causing Marik to comment that the ancient spirit was being very cautious to have not attacked.

**Phantom Beast King Gazelle – Attribute: Earth, Type: Beast, Level: 4, ATK/1500, DEF/1200**

"No. 'Cowardly' hits the nail on the head," Marik insulted. I really didn't like this guy, being cautious was not cowardly whether in Duel Monsters or Chess it was about perceiving what your opponent's gambits might be trying to accomplish. "You can't defeat me like that," Marik insisted. Yami retorted that they'd see about such a fact. "At least don't die until you see the God Card, Osiris with your very own eyes," Marik stated. Yami ordered the madman to shut up and get on with his turn already.

Marik did make his move by drawing a card and summoning out the monster known as Worm Drake in attack mode, I did wonder what Marik was up to as neither of his monsters, however he soon made another move by pulling out another card that was already in his hand and from Marik's wording made it clear that it was a Spell or Trap that he was intending to activate.

**Worm Drake – Attribute: Earth, Type: Reptile, Level: 4, ATK/1400, DEF/1500**

"The Spell Card, Fusion!" Marik revealed. The card was projected and this caused Worm Drake and Humanoid Slime were pulled together in a spiral before eventually forming into a new monster. "I Fusion Summon the monster, Humanoid Drake!" Marik announced. This thing didn't even look human, Worm Slime would have been a more appropriate name for the monster.

**Humanoid Drake – Attribute: Water, Type: Aqua/Fusion, Level: 7, ATK/2200, DEF/2000**

"But Fusion Monsters can't attack on the turn they're summoned. I'm safe for the time being," Yami stated. However Marik swiftly asked if the ancient spirit was sure about that and went on to reveal that his face down wasn't a Trap as Yami thought which shocked him and so the psycho activated it revealing that the card was a Spell known as Quick Attack which let Fusion Monsters attack on the turn they were summoned.

"I don't fear my opponent's cards. I'm not the type to play it safe and not attack until I have the upper hand. I'm different from cowards like you who are afraid of one measly set card!" Marik taunted. I scoffed at that as the phrase 'discretion is the better part of valour' jumped to mind; Marik was stupid for not being wary of face downs. "Here I come! Humanoid Drake, attack! Take apart Phantom Beast King Gazelle!" Marik commanded. The slime moved forward ready to destroy Yami's monster.

"Reverse card, open!" Yami commanded. He pushed a button on the Duel Disk in order to comply with the move and the card rose up, it revealed the artwork for a second but it was all I needed to smile in response; a light shone from the card which stopped Humanoid Drake in its' path and caused the monster to split back into the two monsters that had formed it, Marik was annoyed as he identified the card as the Spell, Fusion Cancel. "Marik. From the time you summoned Humanoid slime, I knew you were going to fuse it into another monster," Yami revealed.

Marik seemed surprised by this as Yami explained that Fusion Monsters could be summoned without wasting a turn unlike Advance Summoned monsters, the ancient spirit then confidently stated that as Marik had already planned his next move then Yami had already planned for it; the two then began to exchange insults about the other's dueling skill, as Marik insisted he was merely testing the waters, which was causing a tick mark to begin throbbing on my head.

"Duel already or I'm calling Battle City's Commissioner!" I snapped. The Commissioner enforced the rules of Battle City and I'm sure he'd find something, also since it was Mokuba it would give me someone to talk to – without risking a duel – about the two men's idiocy in regarding to focusing on insults instead of the duel; I didn't care that one was a psycho, he was a psycho with focus and that made it worse.

Marik then stated that a Duelist was akin to a vessel and strategies were water to fill the vessel, Marik admitted that Yami was a great duelist from how he'd reacted to this turn however the madman insisted that if he were to cast his great stone then it would shatter the vessel and revealed that great stone was his hidden God Card; Yami then got them back on track by placing his fingers on the deck.

"Let's go! My turn!" Yami announced. He drew the top card and looked at it probably running through strategies in his mind on how to stop Marik from getting his God Card out onto the field, unfortunately how it was summoned was unknown so that would be tricky. "I summoned Magnet Warrior Beta!" Yami declared. The little robot was projected onto the field alongside Gazelle.

**Magnet Warrior β – Attribute: Earth, Type: Rock, Level: 4, ATK/1700, DEF/1600**

Yami swiftly called the Battle Phase and began it by having his freshly summoned monster attack the Worm Drake which easily destroyed the reptilian monster and without any more set cards on Marik's field it wasn't probable that he'd be able to stop the next assault unless he had a monster effect that could be activated whilst held in the hand.

**Doll – LP: 4000 – LP: 3700**

Without wasting a second Yami commanded his other monster to attack Humanoid Slime, Gazelle's sharp claws shredded the liquid mass into small droplets and it dealt an immense amount of damage to the psycho's Life Points as he'd now lost a thousand thanks to the back to back attacks and normally I'd be a bit more sure but, Marik let out a short laugh.

**Doll – LP: 3700 – LP: 3000**

"You don't **get** it. **You're** the one who's been cornered! My turn! Draw!" Marik insisted. He then drew the card and looked at it before turning his face back to Yami. "I compared strategy to water before, didn't I? I'll show you that ultimate strategy, right now. At time, water can become a shield that can protect against any attack. At other times, it can become a sword capable of piercing your enemy's heart. This monster wields that power! I summon Revival Slime! Defence Mode!" Marik spoke.

**Revival Slime – Attribute: Water, Type: Aqua, Level: 4, ATK/1500, DEF/500**

I narrowed my eyes upon seeing the – previously unknown to me – creature, it certainly wasn't anything impressive, but its' name was of some concern to me and Yami didn't seem to recognise the monster either; however Marik didn't stop there as he activated the Spell card Slime Breeder Reactor which would generate Token monsters that Marik was no doubt planning to use in a sacrifice, Marik freely admitted he intended to summon out Osiris and it took a total of three sacrifices.

That was a major problem as I didn't know a single person who'd start a summoning process **without** the necessary cards in hand, field or Graveyard so it was highly likely that Marik had Osiris in his hands already; Yami took over the duel and drew a card, it was likely he knew that he had to end this duel before Marik was able to summon the three Tokens as them being Special Summons wouldn't stop his Advance Summoning.

"I sacrifice the two monsters on my field to Advance Summon the Dragon Slayer Swordsman, Buster Blader!" Yami revealed. He set the card onto the Duel Disk which glowed bright with light causing both of his monsters to disappear as the aforementioned sword wield appeared on the field, which a powerful monster out it might be possible to stop Marik before Osiris joined the fray.

**Buster Blader – Attribute: Earth, Type: Warrior, Level: 7, ATK/2600, DEF/2300**

"Go! Attack Revival Slime!" Yami commanded. The dragon slayer leapt forward bringing his' massive sword through the creature with it being shattered into droplets and Yami celebrated his success but Marik insisted that we look close; to each of our shock the droplets didn't disperse like Humanoid Slime and instead were pulled back together as Revival Slime reformed. "Wh-What!?" Yami questioned.

"Wonderful. It can't be destroyed in battle!" I spat. These monsters did exist as evidence by Aphrodite and if on the opposing side **very **aggravating to deal with, Marik laughed and acknowledge it was indeed a regeneration ability and compared it to water, incapable of being harmed; with such a creature on the field that would make stopping Osiris summon even harder but so long as Yami could destroy Slime Breeder or Revival Slime by card effects and/or keep the monster count below three, he'd win… that is **a lot **easier said than done.

Marik taunted Yami over being unable to stop his combo or the summoning of Slifer so he took over the duel and drew a card, in response to this Slime Breeder proceeded to activate causing a Slime Token to appear and then Marik proceeded to set a card face down, that was probably something to protect those creepy Tokens from being destroyed which meant Yami had to get rid of it and then the Tokens, Revival Slime could wait for now.

**Slime Monster Token – Attribute: Water, Type: Aqua/Token, Level: 1, ATK/500, DEF/500**

"Now what are you going to, Yugi?" Marik wondered. Yami analysed what Marik was intending to do in regards to the Tokens from what we already knew but claimed since he had Buster Blader to attack the weak Tokens it would fail since the difference it damage would prevent the third turn from coming and claimed he was going to end it in two.

'Face down!' I mentally commented. It seemed that Yami had completely forgotten or ignored the card as Marik swiftly activated the set trap which was indeed a Trap this time around and it was known as Defend Slime and it was continuous; as Buster Blader launched the assault at the Token but instead Revival Slime got in the way causing it to be destroyed instead causing Yami to demand answers from them.

"Defend Slime is a card that forces the opponent to do battle only with Monsters with the word 'Slime' in their name as long as it remains in play. I predicted you would try that Yugi. Of course I know my Life is wide open if you aim for the Slime Tokens! Now it's my turn!" Marik announced. He drew a card and another Slime Token emerged onto the field, Marik then activated the Spell Nightmare's Steel Cage which prevented all monsters from attacking as Yami was sealed begin a domed cage.

'That's it! I'm calling Kylie.' I decided. Sending off a quick message to my sister who I noticed was currently being avoided worse than I had been before I heard her reassure me that she'd get there was quick as possible but for now we'd have to hold out and I hoped Yugi and Yami had a trick up their sleeve to try and survive this duel or else they'd be in some **serious **danger.


	15. Chapter 15

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback.**

**Thank you to Love the Kaibas for reviewing and that is something I didn't know about Mokuba. I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 15: - Sky Dragon of Osiris

The blaring of a train's horn sounded behind me as I kept my eyes focused on the duel before me; Kylie had managed to avoid getting roped into a duel and had promptly took off to reach our location although she was a fair distance away from us thus it would take her a while to get here and in that time all I could do was hope that Yugi and Yami managed to overcome the obstacles before them.

"Nightmare's Steel Cage is a card that makes it so both of us can't attack each other for two turns," Marik stated. Yami cursed the situation he was stuck in whilst I chewed my bottom lip in a worried fashion. "Right, I may not be able to launch the Battle Phase, but I can still summon Slime Tokens to the field. Burn this image of me into your mind. The moment I summon The Sky Dragon of Osiris!" Marik gloated.

There had to be some way to stop Marik from summoning this monster, well actually I could think of several ways to stop it but that meant nothing if Yami didn't have the necessary cards on him, Marik proceeded to mock Yami by reminding him that it was the ancient spirit's turn yet with that cage blocking him in then there was nothing for him to do, he then added on the pain he'd felt from being locked away and how **true** freedom would come from killing Yami.

"You're wrong! You'll never be free by becoming the Pharaoh! All that will do will trap you even further! You have to walk away from **all** of this or **accept** the hand you've been dealt and make the **most** of it!" I ranted. Marik scoffed through his puppet clearly believing I didn't know what I was talking about, to be fair I didn't but Marik was being foolish by subjecting other people to his ceaseless hatred; as for Yami he seemed to be lost in thought for a bit.

"I can't lose!" Yami declared. He drew a card from his deck but right after that announce that his turn was over, meaning he couldn't do anything to stop Marik's plan for now, Marik began his turn causing another Slime Token to be produced and the churning in my stomach seemed to skyrocket upon seeing its' appearance since that meant we'd reached the most dangerous part of this duel.

"Behold! This is God!" Marik declared. As he did the sky suddenly darkened with thick grey clouds and the briefest flashes of lightning could be seem within them, soon the lightning came down causing me to scream in panic and dodge out of the way – that ended up with me knocking against Yami's leg – as a crater's formed where the lightning met the ground, one suck strike shot straight down and destroyed not only all three Tokens but also the Slime Breeder Machine; the broken machinery suddenly glowed and shot up to the sky forming a bright sphere before a vortex formed in the clouds.

The sphere turned into a column of light as it reached from the ground into the heavens themselves, the light caused me to cover my eyes with my arm but once it faded away I lowered the limb and my jaw dropped whilst my brown-black eyes widened as they stared up at the **massive** serpentine red beast hovering above us, Marik confirmed this was Osiris as the beast roared at us… **THAT IS WAY TO DAMN REAL TO BE A FREAKING HOLOGRAM!**

**Sky Dragon of Osiris – Attribute: God, Type: Phantom God Beast/Dragon, Level: 10, ATK/X000, DEF/X000**

"_Kathie! What in the actual nine circles of heaven and hell is happening?!_" Kylie suddenly called. I wasn't entirely surprised by call given that she would be sensing the immense power that was rushing off of the beast before me, however the sheer level of shock that was pumping through me caused me to delay my response. "_KATHERINE! Are you ok!?_" Kylie called once more.

"_Huh! Oh! Yeah! I'm fine, honest. It's just that me and Yami are currently staring down one of those God cards_," I numbly informed. That titbit of information caused my sister to claim she'd be moving faster now but I barely listened to her words as the powerful aura of Osiris was really making me question if this creature could be defeated.

"You can't! There is no way to defeat Osiris! All duelists are powerless against Osiris' Infinite Attack! Even **you** Pharaoh!" Marik declared. My throat tightened up in response to that announcement since I didn't believe it, Yami at least managed to ask what that meant. "The Sky Dragon of Osiris' attack points equal the number of cards in the player's hand times one thousand. Right now my puppet holds two cards meaning its' attack is two thousand," Marik explained.

**Sky Dragon of Osiris – ATK/X000 – ATK/2000, DEF/X000 – DEF/2000**

"It's attack points are based on the number of cards in the player's hands?!" Yami repeated. In response to this Marik proceeded to activate Pot of Greed which proceeded to briefly decrease Osiris' attack points but that stat was quickly raised when the Doll proceeded to withdraw two more cards meaning that this serpentine beast now had attack points equal to some of the most powerful monsters in all of Duel Monsters.

**Sky Dragon of Osiris – ATK/2000 – ATK/1000, DEF/2000 – DEF/1000**

**Sky Dragon of Osiris – ATK/1000 – ATK/3000, DEF/1000 – DEF/3000**

'The only relief we have is that Osiris is a Dragon-type monster which means that Buster Blader gets an increase in attack power so it's still stronger than Osiris for now. That changes on Marik's next turn thought, Yami has got to do something before it's too late to stop this beast.' I thought. Osiris may be a God but it was still beatable since anything that destroyed the hand would work.

**Buster Blader – ATK/2600 – ATK/3100**

Yami pointed out that the rule of Duel Monsters that stated that by the End Phase of each player's turn that player could only have a maximum of six cards in their hand which meant that Osiris' attack was capped at six thousand, however there was **A** single card that would overturn that rule and then we'd be in serious trouble, I had no doubt that Marik had that card in his deck.

Marik pointed out that not only did Osiris have a second unknown ability but that the Steel cage would be destroyed at the end of Yami's turn which meant Osiris would be able to attack him then and the psycho demanded that Yami get on with his turn but he remained still as a statue causing the mad man across from us to mock him wondering if he was frozen in terror, after some more mocking encouragement for Yami get on with his turn, Marik finally shut up.

"I… I won't lose!" Yami announced. He then proceeded to draw a card and added to his hand as he looked at what options he had, there had to be some way to stop Osiris from gaining more power and all Yami had to do was find it but Marik's assured confidence in his victory wasn't easing my slowly fraying nerves as I anxiously watched the battle going on. "I set two reverse cards. Also, I call Kuriboh to the field in defence mode. Turn over," Yami declared.

**Kuriboh – Attribute: Dark, Type: Fiend, Level: 1, ATK/300, DEF/200**

"And now, the steel cage will finally disappear. The steel cage that has been protecting your life up until now," Marik stated. As he spoke the cage began to smoke and decay until it eventually vanished, in that moment Osiris let out another powerful roar that struck us full force this time causing me to flinch slightly yet my eyes widened as I looked at the draconic beast because when it had roared I heard something that time but couldn't decipher it for some reason, yet I'm certain Osiris was trying to talk to us.

"My turn! Draw! And Osiris' attack goes up by one thousand points!" Marik declared. Now we were in a whole heap of trouble, with such an attack power Buster Blader was bound to get destroyed, unless either of Yami's face downs were cards that could limit or destroy cards that were in the hand such as the Lightforce Sword he used against Seeker in his first duel.

**Sky Dragon of Osiris – ATK/3000 – ATK/4000, DEF/3000 – DEF/4000**

"Here I go! Osiris attack! Super Conductor! Thunder Force!" Marik commanded. The red beast opened its' mouth and a ball of lightning appeared within before being shot towards us and I instinctively grabbed a hold of Yami's pant leg and pressed my head against it in an attempt to push myself away from the current scenario but I felt a hand land on my head.

"Reverse card open!" Yami responded. At those words I pulled my head back in time to see one of the set cards rise up before the attack could hit Buster Blader with Marik being surprised by the twist. "Lightforce Sword! Using this trap card, I'll seal one of your cards!" Yami explained. A sword shot forward and pierced a transparent image of one of Marik's cards which effectively reduced Osiris' attack power.

**Sky Dragon of Osiris – ATK/4000 – ATK/3000, DEF/4000 – ATK/3000**

Buster Blader dodged the attack and went flying forward with his Dragon Sword at the ready to destroy the God, however that accursed Revival Slime jumped in the way thus taking Buster Blader's attack causing it to be dispersed into droplets before reforming once more; Marik reminded us of the Permanent Trap Defend Slime, to be honest I had forgotten about that due to the **towering God staring us down!**

"And at this moment, I activate a Continuous Spell card!" Marik announced. The card was projected and I had to bite back a curse at the appearance – I think Jounouchi's manners, or lack thereof, were rubbing off on me – Yami identified it was Treasure Card of Safe Return. "Right. When a monster is returned to the field, this Continuous Spell card allows me to draw three cards from my deck. Now I have five cards in my hand, The Sky Dragon of Osiris' attack points… rise to five thousand!" Marik announced.

**Sky Dragon of Osiris – ATK/3000 – ATK/2000, DEF/3000 – DEF/2000**

**Sky Dragon of Osiris – ATK/2000 – ATK/5000, DEF/2000 – DEF/5000**

Another horn sound echoed as Osiris charged up its' Thunder Roar once more and with Buster Blader now much weaker than the godly dragon, the warrior's fate was as good as sealed unless Yami's other face down could save it; he had probably guessed my line of thought or knowing it couldn't be used yet the ancient spirit shook his head as he continued to stare down the puppet standing across from us and Buster Blader was destroyed.

**Yugi – LP: 4000 – LP: 2100**

Marik didn't seem to know when to shut his mouth as the man began to mock Yami once more by claiming there was no limit to the power of Osiris and that when Yami's next turn came around he was going to show us another ability of Osiris; Yami looked at his field then his hand and finally his deck before announcing his turn and drawing his card.

Due to its' position I was able to see that it was Magic Cylinder but that card could only be used in conjunction with a Magician-type monster card, Yami looked at his hand probably to assess what he could do with that Trap card; Yami proceeded to sacrifice Kuriboh in order to summon out Black Magician Girl in defence mode.

**Black Magician Girl – Attribute: Dark, Type: Spellcaster, Level 6, ATK/2000, DEF/1700**

"So you summoned a new monster? At this moment, Osiris' other special effect activates!" Marik stated. My eyes widened in surprise at this turn of events with Yami also being surprised by the effect, but that was only increased when the row of teeth above its' mouth began to open meaning this dragon had two mouths as a purple and white ball formed in the second maw. "When a new monster is summoned onto the field. Osiris automatically delivers the monster two thousand points of damage. If that card is in attack mode its' attack points are reduced, if in defence mode then their defence points. Then that monster will be wiped out if they have less," Marik explained.

My mouth ran dry at those words because with only one thousand and seven hundred defence points after she was hit by that blast then Black Magician Girl would be destroyed and that left Yami defenceless – except for face downs – and since Advance Summoning was a type of Normal Summoning that meant Yami couldn't bring out another monster unless it was by a Ritual Summon or a Fusion Summon and the ancient spirit wasn't likely to be **that** lucky and even if he was then either one could be subjected to that Second Mouth attack.

"Summon Lightning Shot!" Marik declared. The orb was sent flying forward towards Black Magician Girl who wore an appropriately shocked expression as Yami was stunned that there was a monster that could launch an attack on the opponent's turn and I was also shocked. "Not a monster. A God!" Marik reminded. This was the power of one of these ancient gods, mine didn't even come close to matching it except for three who I rarely brought out in any duels one of which was Hydros who had a second special effect.

"Reverse card open!" Yami responded. I wasn't sure if the face down would be able to do anything as the attack engulfed Black Magician Girl and Marik claimed that her life had been cut short causing my teeth to grind against one another. "We'll see about that…" Yami stated. Marik was confused and the smoke that had been thrown up finally faded away to reveal the Magical Silk Hats on the field which meant Black Magician Girl had been saved. "What a shame! Osiris failed to guess the right Silk Hat she's hiding in," Yami mocked.

"Well, try your best. Though it's useless to resist" Marik claimed. The madman then laughed at the ancient spirit's struggle, Yami didn't believe this so long as he had Life Points remaining and intended to fight, to end his turn Yami placed two face downs which were quickly covered up by the hats and shuffled. "So you hid cards beneath the Silk Hats? My turn! Draw!" Marik responded. As such Osiris' attack points raised once more, surpassing the Five God Dragon.

**Sky Dragon of Osiris – ATK/5000 – ATK/6000, DEF/5000 – DEF/6000**

"Right now I am holding six cards, the rules state I can hold no more than this. But… if I play this card, I can hold an unlimited number of cards. Continuous Spell card, Infinite Hand!" Marik revealed. Yami was shocked by this whilst I switched to my father's native tongue and let out a few curses that Kylie would no doubt reprimand me for if the situation was any different.

**Sky Dragon of Osiris – ATK/6000 – ATK/5000, DEF/6000 – DEF/5000**

Because of Infinite Hand, Osiris' attack would continue to rise without a limit to the power that it would hold which meant that Yugi and Yami would be staring down a monster of unimaginable power; Marik commanded his mighty beast to attack the Silk Hat that was on the right so I proceeded to thread my hands together then started hoping and praying that this attack wouldn't hit Black Magician Girl otherwise any chance of Yami counterattacking would be foiled.

"His aim was spot on," Yami admitted. Those words meant that it was the Black Magician Girl under there and Marik claimed he was very accurate. "This is my final bet!" Yami admitted. Before the attack hit the targeted hat I saw Yami strike the buttons to activate his face downs, Marik gloated over Black Magician Girl's destruction until he stopped upon seeing that she was not gone, instead Magical Cylinder had taken in the attack preventing her destruction. "Magic Cylinder has absorbed Osiris' attack. I hid two cards under the hats along with Black Magician Girl, Magical Cylinder… and Curse of the Hexagram," Yami revealed.

**Sky Dragon of Osiris – ATK/5000 – ATK/4300**

"And now your Thunder Force will appear in the other cylinder and will be aimed at you!" Yami declared. With Osiris having been weakened by the curse and the returning Thunder Force being at its' full power not only would Osiris be destroyed but Marik would take damage as well; Black Magician Girl directed the counterattack towards the dragon. "Can I defeat a God?" Yami questioned.

"It's useless, didn't I tell you. That no one can do a thing against God," Marik stated. As if to reinforce this proclamation that accursed Revival Slime jumped in the way taking the attack, Yami was surprised by this occurrence whilst I was getting ticked off by it, with that blob of the field Yami couldn't do anything to fight back and even worse Marik got three more cards thanks to that other Continuous Spell he had out.

**Sky Dragon of Osiris – ATK/4300 – ATK/7300, DEF/5000 – DEF/8000**

"Curse of the Hexagram won't work against God! All card effects only work for one turn and then disappear!" Marik revealed. As he spoke the seal proceeded to flicker and fade away causing my blood to drain away at the amount of power that this creature seemed to possess even my secret three cards didn't have that effect, this thing was begin to seem unstoppable.

**Sky Dragon of Osiris – ATK/7300 – ATK/8000**

With all his cards played there was nothing that Yami could do thus forcing him to end his turn, this allowed Marik to draw another card bring his hand up to nine and increasing his monster's attack to a power that I had never heard of any other monster possessing, I almost thought I'd be sick upon seeing that high of a power actually being reached.

**Sky Dragon of Osiris – ATK/8000 – ATK/9000, DEF/8000 – DEF/9000**

Osiris proceeded to launch its' attack and with such an overwhelmingly high attack power there was nothing that Black Magician Girl could do and she was obliterated by the attack with a terrified scream coming from her, the card I'd given to Yugi to make his deck stronger hadn't been able to stand up against such a beast, it was liable that only another God Card could stop it.

"Behold! These five cards gathered on the field make the Ultimate Combo. The God Five. Perfect and completely invincible. These complete every flaw the God has and make it untouchable!" Marik declared. Osiris let out another roar and this time I heard it, I heard what the dragon was attempting to communicate to us this entire time.

"_Forgive me my Pharaoh, I do not wish to strike you but this pretender demands it!_" Osiris had said. At that moment Yami sank to his knees and I looked at the ancient spirit, worry for him coursing through my veins, Yami claimed he couldn't win and collapsed onto his hands causing me to kneel down as I set my hand against his back, I opened my mouth to say something but someone cut me off.

"Stand up, Yugi!" Seto's voice demanded. Those words shattered the gloom that hung over us causing both me and Yami to snap our heads up and look at the CEO, finding him along with Mokuba and Kylie standing up above us. "Your life as a duelist doesn't end here!" Seto stated. I was rather surprised by the man's appearance but something told me it had something to do with Osiris. "You're one of the two duelists I acknowledge! I won't allow a shameless loss right before my eyes. I know you can see it. Our road of battle goes farther than the eye can see! Are you unable to stand here?! If there's a God standing in your way… mow the God down!" Seto commanded.

"As for me, you better not lose **period**! That psycho needs a serious ass kicking and you have something to fight for… far more than he does. So, get. On. Your. Feet. And crush this loser!" Kylie added on. I was glad to see the both of them, they knew the right words to say to spirit far more than I did and I knew he'd respond to their words.


	16. Chapter 16

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback.**

**Thank you to random77 and Guest on Battle of Destiny Begins and greyflower22 on The Coming of Shadows for reviewing. I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 16: - Surpass the God!

"Now! Stand up Yugi!" Seto commanded. The ancient spirit turned his gaze from the newly arrived trio whilst closing his eyelids, those eyes opened only seconds later with a fierce looking blazing within them, so I scrambled back and ran up to join my sister, something told me there was no way that Yami was going to lose as he rose back to his feet.

"I understand! Kylie! Kaiba! Just you wait! I will now… defeat God!" Yami declared. Shockingly Marik claimed this was a convenience and went on to reveal that **Seto** had the missing God card Obelisk and claimed that once he had defeated Yami then Marik intended to go after Seto, Kylie was giving Seto a very angry look upon hearing those words and I didn't blame her. "Here I go! My turn!" Yami announced. I wasn't sure what he thought about this revelation but I didn't have a chance to think much as Kylie pinched Seto's ear.

"YOU HAD THE MISSING CARD ALL ALONG AND DIDN'T THINK TO TELL ME! THIS CREEP LEADS THE ONES THAT STOLE MY GUARDIANS! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I'VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR THEM!?" Kylie ranted. She did this right down Seto's ear causing him to cover them up as he blinked his eyes to clear the liquid that had appeared.

"That is exactly why I didn't tell you because you'd go off the rail and… I know you been searching for those cards of yours for three years, six months, two week, five days, twelve hours, twenty-eight minutes and thirty seconds," Seto responded. I blinked in shock at the fact that Seto had remembered down to the very second how long Kylie had been on this crusade of hers and it actually made her fall quiet; meanwhile Yami hadn't let the argument distract him from the duel.

Yami was looking at his hand as he contemplated the best move to make, at this point it was probably best to set up defensive monsters until he found a way to destroy the looming beast before him but I certainly couldn't think of any way to achieve such a feat, Yami drew a card from his deck nd he proceeded to set a face down card and he then summoned out Big Shield Gardna in defence mode.

**Big Shield Gardna – Attribute: Earth, Type: Warrior, Level: 4, ATK/100, DEF/2600**

Due to its' blasted effect, Osiris' second mouth opened up and fired off its' Summon Lightning Shot which ploughed into Big Shield Gardna and reduced its' defence as a result, fortunately this monster had more than enough points thus allowing it to survive the assault and continue to protect Yami which would at least give him until his next turn to come up with some kind of plan; fortunately Marik saved me time by reminding Yami – thus explaining to the other three – about Osiris' special effect or at least the damaging bit.

**Big Shield Gardna – DEF/2600 – DEF/600**

"Did he say two thousand points of damage?" Mokuba asked. Seto claimed it was a fearsome ability whilst Kylie added on to that statement by claiming it was a troublesome one, both of them were right about this ability with Seto realising that if the monster was weaker than the dealt damage then it would be destroyed as a result with Mokuba realising this once the smoke cleared and Gardna was still there.

"Good grief, that is one tough monster and coupled with that combo, it's almost unbeatable," Kylie commented. I snapped my head up to my sister as did everyone else with Seto smirking as he looked at my sister who shot him a confused look at why the CEO seemed so pleased upon hearing her words whereas the rest of us were confused.

"Well it's good to know there is way to win this," Seto commented. Marik hissed that such a thing was impossible but Yami looked back of the field his eyes darting over each card which he held for a brief moment and so Marik turned his attention back to Yami and began to gloat about Yami feeling despair and fear but if he actually paid attention then he'd notice that Yami wasn't feeling those things, instead he was contemplative; Marik then drew a card.

**Sky Dragon of Osiris – ATK/9000 – ATK/10000, DEF/9000 – DEF/10000**

"This turn, Lightforce Sword's effect fades. Now I have eleven cards in my hand, Osiris' attack rises to eleven thousand points," Marik pointed out. Mokuba was shocked by this occurrence but I'd become numb to it now whilst Kylie scowled at this occurrence and Seto maintained his calm expression even as he explained what Infinite Hand meant causing Mokuba to claim Osiris had to have Infinite attack points them.

**Sky Dragon of Osiris – ATK/10000 – ATK/11000, DEF/10000 – DEF/11000**

However in that instant Seto seemed to go to a distant place as his eyes clouded over upon hearing Mokuba's words and my own mind started working and seemed to be running at several miles an hour; Osiris's appearance had terrified me and frozen my mind with its' power but with my sister here and more importantly as I'd had time to recover from the shock I finally realised what my sister saw and what Seto was probably just now realising.

Osiris' attack power was dependent upon the cards in the hand, that normally meant six but Infinite Hand destroyed that, meaning that the attack power was now the cards within the deck itself and that **wasn't** limitless ergo Osiris' attack power couldn't possibly be infinite because its' source of power wasn't infinite; Yami just had to find a way to exploit that source of power.

"Here I come! Osiris attack! Annihilate Big Shield Gardna!" Marik commanded. The monster was destroyed and Yami flinched at its' destruction with Kylie being concerned but Seto didn't care about this but that was how he was; Yami seemed to be thinking over something before his eyes widened as realisation dawned on him, he'd done… Yami had seen God's flaw.

"I know the God's flaw!" Yami proudly announced. Seto revealed he also knew it whilst Kylie grinned at the ancient spirit and I let out a sigh of relief, Mokuba was confused and Marik wondered about this flaw. "Yeah. Everything will be decided on the next turn. Within this one turn, we will determine which one of us is stronger!" Yami decided. Now that he knew what to do it was just a matter of time and a little bit of faith to decide this match.

"What nonsense are you babbling? Are you saying that there's a way to escape the hole I've trapped you in within just **one** turn?" Marik mocked. Yami proudly and firmly declared that there was a chance and that shut this annoying mad man up quite swiftly, Mokuba called out to Seto who told him not to say anything and instead to watch carefully for the possibility that would be created whilst calling Yami a True Duelist.

"This is it. Do or die, in a sense. But I'm sure, their deck will respond to their heart," Kylie stated. I nodded my head in agreement as Kylie settled a hand on my shoulder in order to draw comfort from me whilst she held a hand close to her chest, Yami declared that this would be the final turn as he prepared to draw a card, he drew and then looked at it; this caused a smirk to come and rest on his face.

"I win!" Yami announced. The Doll and, by extension, Marik was shocked by those words but I was certain that he had just draw the card that would cinch this duel in his victory. "Here I go! Reverse card open! Resurrection of the Dead! I use this card to revive a monster sleeping in the Graveyard. The mighty dragon slayer Buster Blader, return to the field!" Yami declared. The powerful warrior appeared on the field with its sword at the ready.

**Buster Blader – ATK/2600 – ATK/3100**

"I can tell you plan to bring him back from the dead in defence mode just to protect your life points but you can't win like that," Marik condemned. Yami shot back that Buster Blader had been brought back in attack mode as opposed to what the psycho had believed and claimed he had an infinite combo thanks to the key card he drew.

"Infinite combo, you say? Beyond the limits of God, you say?! What bullshit are you on about? There's no power stronger than the infinity of God in this world! Behold the line up on my field. The Continuous Spell Treasure Card of Safe Return, the effects of this card reach the entire field. That means even when one of your monsters is regenerated, I get to draw three cards," Marik ranted.

**Sky Dragon of Osiris – ATK/11000 – ATK/14000, DEF/11000 – DEF/14000**

"Also when you summoned Buster Blader, Osiris' special ability was activated!" Marik reminded. The second mouth opened and fired that power draining orb at the warrior thus stripping it of the majority of its' power, whilst being drained of its' power I heard Buster Blader grunt in pain with Yami begging his monster to endure it and fortunately the monster was strong enough to survive that pain although it was left wheezing in pain.

**Buster Blader – ATK/3100 – ATK/1100**

"It seems he managed to live, but Buster Blader's attack points have fallen to one thousand, one hundred. Do you still plan to attack Osiris? It's not too late to stop now. I'll let you switch it to defence mode," Marik commented. However Yami refused to back down and was intent on following through with his infinite combo and announced his Battle Phase. "Bring it on! You won't know you're dead until it's too late," Marik stated.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. If Yugi loses then that Doll intends to kill him," I stated. Kylie looked at me as her mouth opened whilst Mokuba paled and even Seto turned stiff, Kylie's mouth snapped shut as her eyes turned to glare it Marik's puppet, it was enough for me to know that Kylie wasn't about to let such a thing occur so long as she could fight, Marik had no idea of my sister's power… besides I doubted that Yami was going to lose.

"Buster Blader attack Sky Dragon of Osiris!" Yami commanded. The warrior charged forward attempting to strike a blow to the towering serpentine dragon although even if the attack had reached Osiris it wouldn't have mattered since Buster Blader was too weak however thanks to Defender Slime, Revival Slime got in the way and was destroyed by the attack instead, Marik mocked Yami for wasting his turn. "I was well aware that Revival Slime would become Osiris' shield! And, I was waiting for this moment!" Yami responded. The moment he spoke of was just as Revival Slime began to reform.

Yami swiftly proceeded to remove a card from his hand and slid it into the Magic/Trap zone whilst declaring this card was his trump card, it was the Magic card Brain Control; Marik claimed that the card wouldn't work against Osiris and claimed Osiris would counterattack Buster Blader now, however Yami pointed out that he never actually said which of the two monsters he would be taking from Marik.

"What?!" Marik exclaimed. Yami clarified that the monster he was taking control of through Brain Control was Revival Slime, causing the regenerating creature to be Special Summoned onto Yami's field instead and as per the effect of Treasure Card of Safe Return, Marik was allowed to draw three cards. "I don't know what you're up to but all you've accomplished is increasing Osiris' attack points even further!" Marik stated.

**Sky Dragon of Osiris – ATK/14000 – ATK/17000, DEF/14000 – DEF/17000**

"Fool! Now Osiris has **seventeen thousand** attack points! Counterattack Osiris! Deliver the final blow to the nameless Pharaoh!" Marik commanded. However Yami stopped that attack by reminding Marik that since a monster had been summoned on the opponent's field that meant Osiris' special effect activated and depleted Revival Slime of its' defence points and destroying it as a result.

**Revival Slime – DEF/500 – DEF/0**

"What do you think will happen next?" Yami asked. It was clear what was going to happen now, Revival Slime was going to be revived on Yami's field thanks to Brain Control's effect, Marik would be allowed to draw three cards thus increasing Osiris' attack power and because a monster was summoned to the opponent's field Osiris would be forced to use its' effect once more destroying Revival Slime again, it was a chain of events that couldn't be stopped just as Yami promised an infinite loop that surpassed God.

**Sky Dragon of Osiris – ATK/17000 – ATK/20000, DEF/17000 – DEF/20000**

Because of this infinite loop, each time Revival Slime returned to Yami's field Marik got to draw three cards and because of this continual drawing not only would Osiris' power continue to rise but it would also thin out Marik's deck the more that cycle occurred; there was a total of three ways to lose in Duel Monsters, the most obvious one was the loss of Life Points and a second was to surrender the duel but the third…

**Sky Dragon of Osiris – ATK/20000 – ATK/23000, DEF/20000 – DEF/23000**

Deck Out, that was its' name and essentially it referred to the moment when a duelist lost the capability to draw cards from the deck when their draw phase came along and due to the infinite loop the duel would be stuck in there was no way for Marik to escape this trap, the moment he drew that last card this duel would end.

**Sky Dragon of Osiris – ATK/23000 – ATK/26000, DEF/23000 – DEF/26000**

"H-He pulled it off," Marik admitted. Yami revealed the condition he would force Marik to lose on causing Doll's hand to weaken in response to Marik's shock allowing the huge amount of cards to flutter to the floor and letting me see that there were copies of Treasure Card of Safe Return, Slime Breeder Machine and Defender Slime within the deck, clearly Marik hadn't been intending to leave this duel to chance.

"Marik! You said this didn't you! That if your hand was infinite, Osiris' attack points would also be infinite! But that's wrong!" Yami pointed out. Osiris launched another attack as the loop continued forcing Marik to draw another set of three cards and I noticed that soon this duel would be over as Marik's deck was almost gone from all the drawing he'd been doing.

**Sky Dragon of Osiris – ATK/26000 - …, DEF/26000 - …**

"God's power is not infinite! It's limited by the number of cards in your Deck!" Yami declared. The deck had run out meaning that Marik could not comply with Treasure Card of Safe Return's condition and as a result this duel was finished, in response to Marik's shock Doll slumped to its' knees. "I win Marik!" Yami announced. Upon this announcement Osiris began to smoke and it unleashed a cry but this was not one of complete pain, beyond that emotion was one of relief.

"_Thank you my pharaoh, I pledge my life to you once more!_" Osiris cried. As the serpentine beast unleashed those words it proceeded to sink to the ground, landing behind the prone form of Doll before it eventually disappeared, Osiris had been happy to have suffered defeat even if it had been forced to suffer as a result.

**Doll – Deck Out, LP: 3000 – LP: 0**

"He did it! Yugi won!" Mokuba cheered. Me, Kylie and the boy ran down the slope with Mokuba heading over to Doll whilst the two of us went up to Yami, I'd never seen such a relieved look on my sister's face before as she lightly punched Yami in the shoulder for his by the skin of his teeth victory. "Now hand over your rare card and Puzzle Card!" Mokuba ordered, However Marik must have cut the connection between the Millennium Rod and Doll as the puppet didn't respond even after Mokuba called out to it.

The three of us walked up to Mokuba as he lifted up Osiris and the Puzzle Card and gave them to Yami although the boy claimed that Seto would soon take Osiris from the boy, I shook my head whilst Kylie scoffed; the both of us had hear Osiris' deepest feelings and I'm sure the other two felt the same way, they wished to be with their pharaoh and cards with that level of desire always found a way.

"Yugi! Now you've become one of the chosen ones the God Cards have selected. For me, I want my enemies nothing short of the best," Seto admitted. It was clear to me now that Seto had somehow learned of the God Cards and got Obelisk from that person thus he set up with whole thing just to claim them. "Otherwise, there'd be no point in defeating you… Yugi, you know this, right? In Battle City, when duelists come face-to-face, it becomes a field of battle," Seto reminded.

"And what are we? Chopped liver?" Me and Kylie demanded. Seto however completely blanked us and this cause me and Mokuba to quickly grab my sister who looked like she was about to punch the arrogant CEO, however as if to stop the duel Doll suddenly stood up and Marik called out to the ancient spirit causing us to focus on him and not the brewing storm, Yami inquired about Marik's motives.

"What? All the God Cards will soon return to my hands. I don't give it a moment's consideration, but there's something I forgot to mention. I will arrive shortly in Domino City and once I arrive, my plan will be set into motion," Marik admitted. Yami asked what plan and I was also rather worried about what this guy was up to. "Right now, I am seeing three visions. One is you, your Consort and comrade standing before me through the eyes of this doll. Another is the port harbour of Domino City. And the third is downtown in the city… through the eyes of some Rare Hunters stationed there. I can see your friends, the duelist called Jounouchi… and the rest," Marik revealed.

That caused my blood to run cold as I realised that Marik was intending to target the others even before the mad man admitted it to our faces, Marik believed that by using them that meant he'd easily be able to claim the God Cards; glancing over I saw Kylie using Mokuba as a willing perch for her laptop to locate Jounouchi's Duel Disk signal.

"How far will you fall Marik?!" Yami demanded. However the psycho claimed it was Yami's fault for not losing to Marik just now and that was why the others were being dragged into this. "I won't forgive you!" Yami declared. Marik claimed he was the one who couldn't forgive due to what his tribe had been forced to endure, Marik then subtly threatened the others so, after Kylie packed up her laptop, the three of us turned to take off and find them.

"Are you running away Yugi?" Seto asked. In response we all turned around but Kylie walked back and seized a hold of Seto's shirt pulling him down to her height as she glare pain and death at the CEO causing him to still and pale slightly as Mokuba took a step back as he gulped slightly, my sister was scary when she was normally angry but now she was one hundred and seventy percent **pissed off** by the threat Marik had just delivered and you don't want to mess with her then.

"Listen Seto! Marik is an absolute crazy person! He had one of his men lock Yugi – and me by extension – underground! In a duel! Where if he lost! A **fucking Buzzsaw would cleave through his legs**! I think finding Jounouchi and the others is more important!" Kylie ranted. Yami walked over and settled his hands on her arms causing her to let go and pull back from our old friendly acquaintance.

"Kaiba, I can't fight you right now. Jounouchi-kun's being threatened by the Ghouls! I can't let them harm my friends!" Yami added. With those words the three of us twisted around and immediately took off hoping to find the others as mine and Kylie's Duel Spirits took off to sweep through the city and hopefully find them in time.

'Guys, please be safe.' I prayed.


	17. Chapter 17

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback.**

**Thank you the Guest for their reviews, one moment please – **_**walks off as she breaks down into hysterical laughter **_**– thanks for that, as for Kaiba always pissing off Kylie, no he doesn't, he does however know her well enough to know she'd have gone a bit crazy if she found out about Marik… say probably tracking down his hideout and storming it single handily AND not telling anyone, strange as it seems Kaiba does – way, WAY deep down – care about Kylie as a surrogate sister, he just has a weird way of showing it. I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 17: - Rescue the Guardians!

My blood was hammering as me, Katherine and Yami raced through the streets of Domino searching for others; we'd reached the downtown area easily but searching through this crowd of people for our friends was proving to be more difficult than usual, I was just thankful we had a few dozen unseen eyes in the sky to help quicken our search, it was just getting Yami to run in those directions when we found them.

Until that information came the three of us kept searching, we'd decided to stay together to prevent Marik kidnapping me or Katherine as would have been possible if we separated; however our search was stopped when two Ghouls stood in our path I gritted my teeth in annoyance at their appearance since it was clearly a delay tactic.

"Muto Yugi, Kylie and Katherine Hope, am I right? If you want to get by us, you've got no choice **but** to defeat us," The short Ghoul stated. The taller green-haired one clarified it was in a duel although I saw sorely tempted to begin punching these gnats, even if it would be so pleasing due to how much stress these nuisances had put me under for years, especially in the last two days.

"Rare Hunters? Move it you bastards!?" Yami ordered. I wasn't surprised by the rage in his tone although Katherine jumped at it, however the short one refused to let us go since Marik would apparently have their heads, given the mad man's track record I took that seriously, to make things worse the taller one added on that refusing to duel would mean our friends would pay a high price as a result.

"Scumbags!" I growled. These bastards were currently discussing which of us would go first so me and Katherine simultaneously activated out Duel Disks surprising them and Yami. "Why take turns? A Tag Duel is fine for us," I stated. My tone was still filled with anger whilst Katherine's shy façade faded away to reveal a seething rage beneath a calm surface, both men were staring at us frightened. "Yami, take the opportunity and run," I quietly suggested.

"No, Kylie. We promised to stick together, if Marik got his hands on you or Katherine, there'd be more pieces to use against me and my partner," Yami protested. I glanced back and saw that his face was filled with true worry but he had to go whilst we distracted these bastards if he wanted to reach Jounouchi and the others in time.

"How about a Battle Royal?" Seto suggested. We looked back to see the cold individual approaching us with his Disk already activated and I was surprised by his words. "A three way Tag match but two pairs can still help each other out. Kylie and Katherine, you two pair up and I'll pair with Yugi," Seto clarified. The Rare Hunters seemed to be considering this formula and I was all for it, Seto inserted his deck as Mokuba ran up to join us.

"But don't misunderstand, Yugi. I have held the Battle City tournament for only one purpose. Gathering the God cards and eliminating the Ghouls. I cannot allow such an evil group who counterfeits cards continue to prosper. I'm not lending a hand for that nobody of yours. Or since you just obtained a God Card… maybe you don't need my help," Seto reminded. The Rare Hunters agreed to the three way Tag Duel since getting rid of us would make Marik happy and so we started the duel.

**Katherine – LP: 4000**

**Kylie – LP: 4000**

**Rare Hunter Two – LP: 4000**

**Rare Hunter Three – LP: 4000**

**Seto – LP: 4000**

**Yugi – LP: 4000**

"My turn, the Magic card Pot of Greed. Its' effect allows me to draw two cards from my deck. I will then summon Lord of Dragon – Dragon's Ruler, to the field!" Seto declared. The creature emerged onto the field and from the numerous times I'd dueled Seto I knew exactly where this method of play was leading.

**Lord of Dragon – Dragon's Ruler – Attribute: Dark, Type: Magician, Level: 4, ATK/1200, DEF/1100**

"Also, two of the Magic card, The Flute of Summoning Dragon! When Flute of Summoning Dragon is activated while Dragon's Ruler is face up on the field, this Magic card lets me play up to two Dragons from my hand! Come forth, Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Hyozanryu!" Seto announced. All three of Seto's Blue-Eyes emerged onto the field along the diamond studded Hyozanryu.

**Blue-Eyes White Dragon – Attribute: Light, Type: Dragon, Level: 8, ATK/3000, DEF/2500 (X3)**

**Hyozanryu – Attribute: Light, Type: Dragon, Level: 7, ATK/2100, DEF/2800**

Due to the rules of the Battle Royal on the first turn no players could attack so Seto was forced to end his turn although he did mock the Rare Hunters to come at him, however in response to the gathering of monsters which was making this alleyway rather closed off, the short Rare Hunter simply played a monster in face down defence mode.

"My turn! Draw!" Katherine announced. My sister drew forth a card and she proceeded to observe her drawn card then looked at her hand to see what she could do. "I summon Deity of War, Enyo in attack mode!" Katherine announced. On her field appeared a young woman with jet black hair and blazing green eyes, she was clad in bronze Grecian battle armour with a sword in hand and several scars twisting across her arms and one cutting through her face diagonally.

**Deity of War, Enyo – Attribute: Earth, Type: Warrior, Level: 4, ATK/1800, DEF/1700**

"Next I activate Warrior's Counsel allowing me to summon another Warrior-type monster since I have one out on the field already. Come forth Twin of Moon Artemis!" Katherine continued. The aforementioned monster emerged onto the field with her normally calm gaze practically glaring death at the Rare Hunters. "I then activate Bow of the Moon, equipping it to Artemis and raising her attack by four hundred points!" Katherine continued.

**Twin of Moon, Artemis – Attribute: Light, Type: Warrior, Level: 4, ATK/2000, DEF/2000**

**Twin of Moon, Artemis – ATK/2000 – ATK/2400**

Cycling back around so that the partners could take their turns, Yami started his move off by playing two cards face down although Seto told him to mind his own business as the CEO didn't intend to ask the ancient spirit for help as Seto believed he was enough so Yami decided to sit back and watch as he summoned Kuriboh in defence mode.

**Kuriboh – Attribute: Dark, Type: Demon, Level: 1, ATK/300, DEF/200**

"Seto I'm not holding back! My turn!" I declared. Drawing a card from my deck I looked at it then at my hand as a faint screech echoed within my mind so I swiftly traded cards in order to start a combo move as I slid the chosen card into the Magic/Trap zone. "First I activate Angel's Charity allowing me to draw three cards so long as I discard two," I started. Drawing the requisite cards I selected the two I didn't need and then pulled out a third. "Aquila's effect automatically summons him to the field when he's moved to my hand via an effect! I summon him in defence mode!" I announced. I then summoned the bird to the field.

**Aquila – Attribute: Wind, Type: Avian-Beast, Level: 4, ATK/1600, DEF/1300**

"Next I activate Star Connection, since I have a Avian-Beast or Beast-type on the field, I'm allowed to summon another Avian-Beast or Beast-type! Come forth Ursa Minor in attack mode," I revealed. The monster I'd received to boost my deck when the Release rule came into effect appeared as a cluster of stars before forming a monster identical to my Ursa Major but with lavender fur and charcoal claws and eyes.

**Ursa Minor – Attribute: Dark, Type: Beast, Level: 4, ATK/1700, DEF/1900**

"I'm not done, since those were both Special Summon, I can still normal summon so I Release Ursa Minor to Advance Summon Ursa Major! In attack mode!" I proclaimed. Ursa Minor was swallowed up by light turning into an orb before reforming into Ursa Major when I played the card. "Thanks to Minor's effect Major gains a five hundred point boost in attack and defence," I explained.

**Ursa Major – Attribute: Dark, Type: Beast, Level: 6, ATK/2500, DEF/2700**

**Ursa Major – ATK/2500 – ATK/3000, DEF/2700 – DEF/3200**

To end this preparation round and get onto the real duel, the taller Rare Hunter went slightly further on his turn when compared to his partner as he added a face down card alongside a set monster; I didn't know what they were up to but I wasn't going to take any chances of being defeated, not when people were in true danger.

"Trap? Magic? No matter which it is, it's useless," Seto commented. Yami advised Seto to be careful but the brunette was rarely careful even when it was the obvious move. "Yugi, I thought I told you to stay out of this!" Seto stated. Yami was naturally annoyed but Seto claimed he'd show his to us now… did he mean… oh boy, things were about to get **very** cramped.

"Blue-Eyes! Become God's power!" Seto declared. The three beautiful dragons unleashed a roar as they gathered together in a light that encompassed Seto. "Behold, Yugi! Kylie! Come forth, Obelisk!" Seto announced. His three Blue-Eyes were shattered into pieces and in their place another blue monster appeared.

**Giant Divine Soldier of Obelisk – Attribute: God, Type: Phantom God Beast, Level: 10, ATK/4000, DEF/4000**

'**HUGE!**' I thought. Everyone else seemed to be as in awe of this towering behemoth as I was, Obelisk emerged above the buildings surrounding us; Seto then proceeded to sacrifice Hyozanryu and Dragon's Ruler – which caused Kuriboh to nearly start crying – this activated Obelisk's effect destroying both Rare Hunter's monsters and allowed a direct attack on both men and when the taller one tried to activate Mirror Force, it was stopped since Trap's didn't affect the Gods.

**Rare Hunter Two – LP: 4000 – LP: 0**

**Rare Hunter Three – LP: 4000 – LP: 0**

After pausing a brief moment due to the shock, me and Katherine quickly pulled out our decks thus invalidating any further dueling and Yami ran over to the short one whilst I got the taller one and we both proceeded to demand the location of our friends from them, whilst Seto looted their pockets for Puzzle Cards of which there were two each, the brunette gave us each one but Yami quickly announced he was going after Jounouchi and we proceeded to begin taking off again.

"Wait!" Seto cried out. We all stopped as Yami turned around to call the CEO persistent and made to argue his point once more but Seto turned towards his little brother. "Mokuba, contact Headquarters. Using our system we'll be able to locate that nobody, the moment he starts a Duel, no matter where he is," Seto commented. I was relieved that he was helping us as I'd only managed to get a general area of his location not the exact coordinates. "But the moment we locate them, be prepared. For the conclusion between me and you!" Seto reminded.

Knowing this we proceeded to walk at a much slower pace as we waited for Jounouchi to start a duel, as soon as that information was secured Seto started leading us to its' location although he did remind us of why he was doing this – Osiris – and continued to insult Jounouchi which got him a reprimand off of Yami since Jounouchi was an honestly good duelist and Seto was informed of their promise; we learned that Jounouchi was dueling at the Aquarium so rushed in that direction.

We arrived at the Domino Aquarium and proceeded to sweep the place for any sigh of the blonde duelist, however there wasn't a single sign of him although Kajiki was there and he confirmed that he had just dueled our friend allowing Jounouchi to advance to the finals and that he was with Suguroku, Honda and Anzu so with the brunette girl having a mobile phone we proceeded to a phone booth and Yami set about calling her.

"Hello? Anzu? Hello? Hello?! Anzu? Anzu! Anzu!" Yami called down the line. Seto was leaning against a post whilst I was sat down trying to locate Jounouchi and Katherine was talking to our Duel Spirits to keep searching for them, Yami put the phone down and came out causing all of us to look at him. "Anzu didn't answer her mobile phone. They may have already been attacked by the Ghouls," Yami revealed. Seto wasn't bothered since Mokuba was to call us as soon as Jounouchi's location was found and Seto was more focused on wanting to beat Yami but then his comm. link bleeped.

I nearly punched my laptop as I realised that all trace of Jounouchi was gone with Mokuba having the same problem, Mokuba intended to head back to their headquarters; meanwhile the rest of us would search on foot for any sign of them however at one point a Ghoul suddenly dropped down in front of us causing the four of us to still as I lightly gripped Katherine's shoulder to make sure she wasn't taken as the Ghoul let out an eerie laugh.

"Look at that!" The Ghoul commanded. He then pointed to something behind us so we turned and to all of our shocks – but most importantly Seto's – a helicopter appeared flying at lower altitude with Mokuba dangling from it by a rope; Seto was livid and promptly threatened to crush the Ghoul organisation but the one blocking our way simply laughed even more. "How scary. But if you dare touch us, your **cute** little brother will…" The Ghoul implied. Naturally Seto wouldn't risk anything that could potentially lead to harming his brother.

The Ghoul informed us that they'd – whoever they were, I personally hoped Marik so I could punch him – would be waiting atop a nearby skyscraper and if we didn't go there was the implied threat to all the hostages confirming that our friends had been kidnapped; at that moment the helicopter took off with the Ghoul following shortly after, there was a unanimous decision that we were going to the skyscraper and the Ghouls were to be crushed.

We arrived at the building and began to climb up the building hoping to finally get some answers about where our friends were, however we were stopped by two more Ghouls although these did pull their hood down this time around revealing two young woman, probably only twenty at most, both had tanned skin with one having bright red hair whilst the other had shimmering teal hair and their eyes matched the hair colour of the other girl, both of them had Duel Disks on their arm.

"Kylie Hope! You won't be going any further! You're dueling, right here and now!" The red head commanded. I cocked my hips and raised an eyebrow at her before throwing my head back and laughing at the audacity that this Ghoul had showed to me upon first meeting, eventually I calmed down and sent the red head a feral grin coupled with narrowed eyes.

"Not on your cursed life. My friends are in danger, I don't have time to play Marik's games," I responded. Without waiting, I strode passed the two women with ease and the other three quickly joined but then a sharp cutting laugh came from behind us and I knew it was those Ghouls so all of us stopped but the other three looked at me as I kept my gaze ahead of us.

"Oh… so I guess you don't want these after all," The red head taunted. I turned back to look at her and my eyes narrowed as both her and the teal haired woman pulled out two cards each and when they were flipped around my blood drained away as Katherine let out a gasp; in those bitches hands were Suzaku and Byakko along with their respective Ritual cards. "Tehihi… you're so easy to manipulate Kylie Hope," The red head taunted.

"You bitches!" I growled. My magic was burning like a storm within my as I glared at these two women who smirked at me cockily. "Yami! Seto! Go! I'll destroy these two and catch up!" I snapped. My Duel Disk activated but it was quickly followed by one activating right beside me so I snapped my head to see Katherine staring calmly at the two women across from us before looking at me and raising an eyebrow.

"What? You didn't tell me to go and this is the quickest way to drop these two hags," Katherine argued. My sister's logic was infallible as a Tag Duel would let me stomp these two Ghoul much quicker than on my own and I hadn't actually told my sister to leave when I snapped at the boys, plus once my sister made up her mind it was pretty much impossible to change when she was serious.

"Kylie, Katherine," Yami called. I turned to give him a look, hoping that he'd just leave it, our eyes locked for several minutes before he let out a heavy sigh obviously knowing that he couldn't win against me. "Don't you dare lose," Yami insisted. I gave the ancient spirit a smirk as I turned back to glare at the two women but never lost my smirk even as I face them.

"I don't plan on it my king," I stated. With those final words I guessed that the two of them left from the fading sound of footsteps behind us and my face collapsed into an empty mask as the two female Ghouls activated their Duel Disks. "You two better Get Your Game On, but that won't let you win. I'm going to crush you both and take back what you stole." I hissed out. The two of them simply smirked as we prepared this match.

"Very well, I am Rhodonite, this is my sister Azurite and this is a Tag duel, us against you two. Any duelist that loses all their Life Points first will be removed from the game. If you lose then the bomb underneath where you're standing will be set off, sending you to your deaths," The teal haired woman explained. Naturally this was going to happen as Marik had made it quite clear that he wasn't to let me stick around and now Katherine had been roped into this. "Let's begin then," Rhodonite stated.

**Azurite – LP: 4000**

**Katherine – LP: 4000**

**Kylie – LP: 4000**

**Rhodonite – LP: 4000**

"My turn!" Azurite announced. She drew a card from her deck and grinned upon seeing its' artwork, she slid it into her hand and plucked another card from the group instead. "I summon Ritual Djinn Releaser in defence mode and then I set two cards face down!" Azurite announced. The cards were projected on to the field but I had to wonder what the red haired woman was up to.

**Ritual Djinn Releaser – Attribute: Dark, Type: Demon, Level: 3, ATK/1200, DEF/2000**

"You won't be able to stop me from saving my friends," Katherine calmly commented. She then began her turn by drawing a card and then examining her hand to see what moves she could make before eyeing the monster that was out. "I set three cards face down and then I summon Carer of Springs, Persephone in defence mode!" Katherine decided. The cards were projected however Katherine's move caused Azurite to snicker.

**Carer of Springs, Persephone – Attribute: Earth, Type: Plant, Level: 4, ATK/1200, DEF/1700**

"You scared or something kid, why don't you run home to your mummy and leave dueling to the big girls," Azurite taunted. However Katherine blinked twice showing that the words had no effect on her causing Azurite to grit her teeth and she was about to move forward but Rhodonite shot her arm out stopping the red head in her tracks as the teal haired woman shook her head in disagreement to that course of action.

"Marik-sama will praise us if we defeat them in a duel, hold your temper Azurite!" Rhodonite commanded. The woman pulled back but she still glared angrily at my little sister who kept her gaze firmly on the teal head standing across from her. "Now it's my turn! Draw! I summon Harpie Dancer to the field in attack mode and set one card face down," Rhodonite announced. My eyes along with Katherine's had widened in surprise hearing this woman had a Harpie monster "As per her effect, Harpie Dance becomes known as Harpie Lady when on the field," Rhodonite explained.

**Harpie Dancer – Attribute: Wind, Type: Avian-Beast, Level: 4, ATK/1200, DEF/1000**

**Harpie Lady – Attribute: Wind, Type: Avian-Beast, Level: 4, ATK/1200, DEF/1000**

"About time!" I growled. Drawing a card from my deck I looked at before proceeding to remove a monster from my hand in order to end this mess. "I summon Virgo in defence mode and I play four cards face down," I decided. Even if I wanted to get this duel over and done with, I couldn't be risky in any actions I took against them so Virgo was a good choice to start with.

**Virgo – Attribute: Light, Type: Magician, Level: 2, ATK/500, DEF/2500**

"Well, well this should be fun! Now let's take all your power and make Marik-sama pleased that the Pharaoh's Consort had been annihilated," Azurite declared. She then lay her fingers on the top card of her deck as a mad grin came onto her face. "My turn! Draw!" Azurtie declared. She practically ripped the card from the deck.


	18. Chapter 18

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback.**

**Thank you the Guest(s) for their reviews I don't know why the Snow Queen was never mentioned in Yu-Gi-Oh, perhaps the dubbers didn't know of it, I don't know if it was published in Japan and I'm not sure how to answer your other reviews. As for greyflower22, WHAT to do you mean by, covered it? I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 18: - The Power of Cooperation

Azurite looked at the card she had drawn before grinning even wider – that had the effect of making her look like a maniac – as she proceeded to play the card face down she then proceeded to activate Pot of Greed letting her draw to more cards and she then summon another monster which was known as Djinn Demolisher of Rituals in defence mode.

**Ritual Djinn Demolisher – Attribute: Dark, Type: Demon, Level: 3, ATK/1500, DEF/600**

I couldn't tell what Azurite was up to exactly although it was quite possibly connected to Ritual Summoning due to the fact that both of her monsters' names had contained that word, I wasn't overly familiar with this Djinn archetype and one look at Kylie confirmed she was in the same boat; I decided to instead focus on the duel in order to discern what they were planning.

"My turn! I summon Messenger of Gods, Hermes in attack mode!" I announced. Playing the card onto the field allowed a young man to be projected, he had short curly brown hair that was mostly hidden by the petasos on his head, his eyes were a light grey colour that sparkled with mischief that didn't synch with the gentle smile on his face, he wore a light blue toga which contrasted his tanned skin alongside two golden bracelets, a pouch was slung around his waist and on his feet were winged sandals.

**Messenger of Gods, Hermes – Attribute: Wind, Type: Angel, Level: 4, ATK/1500, DEF/1800**

"So? It's not strong enough to really hurt either of us," Azurite mocked. However Rhodonite looked at my monster with a wary gleam in her eyes, it was clear that Azurite put too much stock in the fact that she had access to cards that most people wouldn't even be able to dream of getting but that also meant she was vulnerable to her own arrogance, Rhodonite on the other hand was by far the more cautious of the two.

"Maybe, but I activate Hermes' Special Effect!" I retaliated. Azurite's eyes widened whilst Rhodonite grimaced at this, Kylie smirked glad to know we could catch these two off guard. "By discarding one card, Hermes can attack you directly! I choose to target Azurite!" I announced. The card was discarded as Hermes' smile turned to one of pure mischief and he ran forward before leaping into the sky.

The wings attached to his sandals spread out and Hermes used them to alter his trajectory allowing him to drop down an aerial kick onto Azurite who had raised her arms to take the brunt of the impact, Hermes pushed off of Azurite allowing him to fly back over and land in front of me ready to protect me from harm alongside Persephone, with the damage done I proceeded to end my turn.

**Azurite – LP: 4000 – LP: 2500**

"You were careless Azurite! These two aren't ones we can deal with lightly!" Rhodonite chastised. In response to those words Azurite let out an unintelligible grumble of words before recomposing herself. "Now then, it's my turn," Rhodonite stated. She drew a card from her deck and looked at it before moving to her hands. "I summon Hunter Owl in attack mode!" Rhodonite announced. The monster was projected onto the field but I was concerned by her moves since neither of her monsters were powerful enough to destroy mine or Kylie's monsters, so what was Rhodonite up to.

**Hunter Owl – Attribute: Wind, Type: Avian Beast, Level: 4, ATK/1000, DEF/900**

"Now Hunter Owl's effect activates! For each Wind Attribute monster I control it gains five hundred attack points and if I control another Wind Attribute monster, Hunter Owl cannot be targeted for attack!" Rhodonite announced. Well that answered my question whilst adding a whole load of trouble for us to deal with as Hunter Owl was now a significant threat since it would be able to destroy our monsters.

**Hunter Owl – ATK/1000 – ATK/2000**

"Hunter Owl attack Messenger of God, Hermes!" Rhodonite commanded. Her empowered owl charged over and struck down my mischievous god causing me to frown deeply as Hermes was sent to the graveyard, Rhodonite didn't gloat or anything like I'd seen from previous Ghouls, instead she remained quiet causing my eyebrows to furrow in confusion at this unexpected behaviour.

**Katherine – LP: 4000 – LP: 3500**

"I activate my Trap, Rope of Life!" I announced. I activated one of my face downs causing it to rise up causing the two Ghouls to frown at my actions whilst Kylie quirked an eyebrow at me. "When a monster is destroyed I'm allowed to summon that monster back with an increase in attack power! Return Hermes!" I explained. The monster appeared on the field with him bowing to the two Ghouls before kneeling in a defensive position

**Messenger of the Gods, Hermes – ATK/1500 – ATK/2300**

"My turn! Virgo's effect activates allowing me to treat her as a Spell Card for this turn and that causes my Life points to rise by one thousand!" Kylie began. I noticed that Azurite sneered whilst Rhodonite tensed in response to this revelation, the more Life Points that Kylie had for this duel would make it easier for her to win, I just had to keep myself in the game long enough to help her win.

**Kylie – LP: 4000 – LP: 5000**

"Next I activate Tribute to the Dead, I discard one card to destroy one of yours. I destroy Hunter Owl!" Kylie announced. She had already slid the card into her graveyard causing white bandages to shoot out of the ground and bind Hunter Owl who struggled against the binds but eventually the monster was dragged into the depths. "Now I activate Resurrection of the Dead allowing me to bring back a monster from any of our graveyards, I summon Corona Borealis!" Kylie continued. She must have discarded that card in order to activate her previous Spell card all in order to summon it back; the creature was a golden king styled crown which produced an aurora that vaguely formed a humanoid shape making it look like the aurora was wearing the crown.

**Corona Borealis – Attribute: Light, Type: Angel, Level: 6, ATK/2000, DEF/1700**

"Thanks to Borealis' effect I'm allowed to summon its' counterpart Corona Australis!" Kylie announced. The card was played onto the field with the crown shaped like one for a queen but the rest was the same, although the presence of both these cards did serve to cause an almost magnetic pressure to be placed upon our area of dueling. "Now I end my turn," Kylie finished. Azurite quickly placed her fingers on her top card and drew it.

**Corona Australis – Attribute: Light, Type: Angel, Level: 6, ATK/2000, DEF/1700**

"Alright! I activate the Ritual Magic Card The Vermillion Bird!" Azurite announced. The artwork of the card she'd activated was shown to us as Kylie sucked in a sharp breath upon hearing its' name, a spiralling flame burst into life before us causing sweat to begin gathering on my brow and I was half tempted to remove the cardigan I wore due to the amazing heat. "I Release my Djinn and the Flelf in my hand in order to summon the Guardian of the South, Suzaku!" Azurite announced.

The spiralling flame reached out to consume the mentioned monsters and it then morphed, its' appearance twisting into the shape of a bird, it was massive with the feathers being different shades of red that glistened in the light, razor sharp talons like steel and a beak made of gold, Suzaku's eyes were a keen melting pot of red, yellow and orange as it gazed down at us.

**Guardian of the South, Suzaku – Attribute: Fire, Type: Avian Beast/Ritual, Level: 8, ATK/2900, DEF/2700**

"_Ah… so this is where you are fair child, how I have longed to meet you_," Suzaku admitted. Kylie looked at Suzaku with her eyes misting before she narrowed her eyes into a glare as she stared at Azurite with all the hatred she could muster at seeing the person who Suzaku kept away from her even with them being so close; summoning this Guardian was probably going to be something that Azurite deeply regretted.

"Suzaku attack and destroy Corona Australis!" Azurite commanded. The massive phoenix flagged his lustrous wings causing waves of fire to surge outwards causing the heat to rise dramatically as the waves flooded towards my sister; however as I looked at her Kylie wasn't worried as she simply activated one of her face downs which summoned a familiar wall of reflective crystal that caused the attack to be stopped. "What happened?!" Azurite questioned.

"Permanent Trap, Silver Screen Mirror Wall. When you attack this card stop it and slices the attacking monster's power in half," Kylie explained. In response to this revelation Azurite scowled but she proceeded to activate the Continuous Spell Ritual Cage, this card would serve to protect Suzaku from any monster effects, fortunately it wouldn't protect the Guardian from Spells or Trap; Azurite then ended her turn.

**Guardian of the South, Suzaku – ATK/2900 – ATK/1450**

"Alright, my turn," I stated. Pulling a card from my deck I looked at it and the card that remained in my hand as I tried to think about what to do for my move. "I release Carer of Springs, Persephone to Advance Summon!" I announced. The named monster was encompassed in glowing light before deforming into an orb that raced up to the ceiling. "Come forth, Carer of Harvests, Demeter!" I declared. The warm and motherly like monster appeared on my field in defence mode.

**Carer of Harvest, Demeter – Attribute: Earth, Type: Plant, Level: 6, ATK/2000, DEF/2500**

"I play one card face down! Turn Over!" I announced. Rhodonite made her move by drawing a card from her deck and she looked at it before sighing as she moved her hand to activate her face down card which rose up to reveal that it was the card Trade In causing me to frown as I wondered what the red-eyed Ghoul had to be up to.

"Trade In is a card that allows me to discard a Level Eight monster in exchange for drawing two cards, I discard Windrose the Wind Spirit God and draw," Rhodonite explained. She showed us the monster and then proceeded to remove her required cards. "Now I activate the Ritual Magic, The White Tiger. By Releasing the Harpie Dancer on my field and the Sonic Bird in my hand to Ritual Summon Guardian of the East, Byakko," Rhodonite announced.

"I don't think so!" I cut across. Everyone turned to look at me as I activated one of my face downs revealing the Trap I'd just set. "I activate the Horn of Ascension, by sacrificing one of my monsters I can destroy a monster you're about to summon! I sacrifice Demeter to destroy Byakko!" I declared. Rhodonite gritted her teeth as she was forced to send both Byakko and its' Ritual Card to the graveyard and she ended her turn.

"Nice work Kathie! It's my move now and I'm going to show you what happens when the Guardians are wielded by who they chose. I activate the Ritual Magic cards, The Black Tortoise and The Azure Dragon; I Release Corona Australis and Virgo to Ritual Summon Guardian of the North, Genbu and I then Tribute Corona Borealis and the Lupus in my hand to Ritual Summon Guardian of the East, Seiryu!" Kylie announced. The chilling cold that accompanied Genbu was not helped by the water spout that brought forth Seiryu.

**Guardian of the North, Genbu – Attribute: Water, Type: Water/Ritual, Level: 8, ATK/2900, DEF/3100**

**Guardian of the East, Seiryu – Attribute: Wind, Type: Dragon/Ritual, Level: 8, ATK/2800, DEF/3000**

"Alright first I use Genbu's Special Effect to Freeze all your Magic and Traps in place preventing you from activating them! Freezing Wave!" Kylie announced. Genbu unleashed his chilling cry, the act caused me to shiver violently since I wasn't actually well protected against the monster like normal but it did freeze the cards. "Now Genbu, attack Suzaku!" Kylie commanded. Her northern Guardian did as commanded with its' chilling attack smothering the heated flames that Suzaku wielded and the brilliant Phoenix was destroyed.

**Azurite – LP: 2500 – LP: 1050**

"I'm not done yet! I activate the Continuous Magic, Ara! This lets me tribute one monster and deal half its' attack as damage to my opponent! I tribute Genbu in order to deal damage to Azurite!" Kylie announced. Azurite's expression turned pale as she looked vacantly ahead, Genbu was enwreathed in light and flew forward slamming into Azurite who got winded in response and collapsed to the floor.

**Azurite – LP: 1050 – LP: 0**

"Now it's your turn! This attack will take you out," Kylie stated. Rhodonite was looking at Azurite with panic on her face before it descended into confusion and she eventually turned to face us with the furrow between her eyebrow deepening as the words that my sister had spoken final seemed to sink into her mind.

"That's impossible, you can't beat me with one attack," Rhodonite commented. However that was quite true as I proceeded to activate my face down revealing that it was Harmonic Bond and with both Hermes and Seiryu as Wind Attributes that added Hermes' attack points to Seiryu thus drastically raising the draconic Guardian's power; throughout this battle me and Kylie had linked out minds and were working together to bring the two Ghouls down.

**Guardian of the East, Seiryu – ATK/2800 – ATK/5100**

"Seiryu attack with Stormy Claw!" Kylie commanded. The blue scaled dragon raced forward and swung its claw downwards with wind pressure trailing off of the limb; surprisingly Rhodonite didn't flinch from the attack instead she closed her eyes and raised her head to meet the oncoming attack, her mouth formed words but I couldn't hear them as the roaring wind that Seiryu controlled drowned them out.

**Rhodonite – LP: 4000 – LP: 0**

Rhodonite also collapsed and I waited with baited breath for something to happen, Kylie eventually walked forward causing me to let out a squeak due to the explosive threat that had been delivered to us at the beginning of this duel but Kylie waved her hand clearly making it known that such a thing was to be dismissed.

"She was bluffing, there wasn't any explosives," Kylie explained. I let out a sigh of relief at that fact our lives weren't in danger, Kylie punched out the Graveyards and retrieved her Guardians before looking at me but I re-enacted her dismissal motion from before signifying I didn't want any of their cards, we then took the necessary amount of Puzzle Cards from them as they had a fair few and Kylie took off; however I hovered behind as I looked at the two female Ghouls, worried for their fate

"Do not fear, child. I will take care of them," A serene voice spoke. I jumped having been startled by the unexpected intrusion but it also served to stir the two women as they looked in the direction of the voice and called out Ishizu-sama; I followed their gaze to find the woman who must have spoken those words and had been addressed.

The woman was twenty years old with long straight black hair that trails just below her shoulders and features two locks wrapped in gold rings coming from behind her ears and continue in front, stopping at her neck, she had a slender build with tanned skin, her outfit consisted of a long ankle length dress partially bearing her shoulders featuring black patterns around the neck and the rims of the sleeves. However the most interesting fact was that her jewellery consists of a gold piece of headwear circling her head and featuring an emerald where it met at the front and around her neck was a golden chain attached to a familiar eye

"Come on Kathie! We need to catch up to Yami and Seto!" Kylie called. Breaking my stare down with the Egyptian lady I turned and ran to catch up to my sister and so we ran as fast as we could up to the roof since that was where our Duel spirits had tracked them to, hopefully they were still there and hadn't lost their duels it was doubtful but always a possibility.

We burst out onto the roof and I had to blink my eyes a few time because of what I saw, Yami and Seto were stood on the glass skylight – that had Life Point counters attached to bombs – alongside two Rare Hunters with them wearing half masks split vertically, the short one wore a white half mask that covered the right side of the face whilst the tall one wore a black half mask that covered the left side of the face.

Currently our friends were locked in a Tag Duel and given the current Life Points, the Continuous Trap Mask of Sacrifice Sealing, the Continuous Spells Masked Doll and Mask of Magic Power Dispelment, the Equip Spell Mask of the Accursed Souls and the monster Masked Demon Beast – Death Guardius, Yami and Seto were **definitely** on the losing side, the only relief we had was that it was Yami's turn.

**Mask of Darkness: - LP: 3700**

**Mask of Light – LP: 4000**

**Seto – LP: 1800**

**Yami – LP: 500**

**Magnet Warrior α – Attribute: Earth, Type: Rock, Level: 4, ATK/1400, DEF/1700**

**Magnet Warrior β – Attribute: Earth, Type: Rock, Level: 4, ATK/1700, DEF/1600**

**Magnet Warrior γ – Attribute: Earth, Type: Rock, Level: 4, ATK/1500, DEF/1800**

**Masked Demon Beast – Death Guardius – Attribute: Dark, Type: Demon, Level: 8, ATK/3300, DEF/2500**

"And the Special Ability of Alpha, Beta and Gamma. Change Form!" Yami spoke. The two Rare Hunters repeated those last two words with confusion in their tones, all three of the Magnet Warriors flew apart which effectively destroyed the Mask of Accursed Souls and they then proceeded to recombine to form one monster. "Magnet Valkyrion the Magnetic Warrior!" Yami announced. Seto then added on that this monster was the combined power of their efforts.

**Magnet Valkyrion the Magnetic Warrior – Attribute: Earth, Type: Rock, Level: 8, ATK/3500, DEF/3850**

"Seto… and Yami… working… together," I commented. Kylie nodded in response to my words but even she seemed surprised by this occurrence after all the stubborn CEO had always believed that cooperation between duelists was a foolish thing despite all evidence to the contrary and now he was working with the person he considered his arch-rival; Seto then pushed Yami to attack and avenge his Blue-Eyes even admitting cooperation was a great power… some body pinch me, this cannot be real.

Yami turned back to look at Death Guardius and had probably noticed that he two Rare Hunters weren't worried about the possible attack that might be coming their way, that set off alarm bells for me instantly as whenever an opponent welcomed an attack that meant there was some kind of trap set for them and with no reverse cards out that meant if was Death Guardius' special ability they were counting on.

"Why are you hesitating Yugi? I sacrificed my Blue-Eyes so you could play your trump card! Then hurry up and eliminate the enemy monster with that trump card and ease my anger!" Seto pushed. The brunette had always been easy to rattle whenever his Blue-Eyes was destroyed as he lost his normal calm and collected demeanour instead becoming filled with anger; Yami didn't respond or attack instantly and instead set a card face down before turn to the CEO.

"Kaiba, will that really ease your emotions if I do that this turn?! If it will, I'll attack," Yami commented. However this caused Seto to utter a 'what' at the ancient spirit. "Emotions only hold a Duelist back. By giving into them, you're falling into the enemy's hands," Yami stated. Seto rejected this was a fight was about anger so Yami implored the brunette to stay calm and think about the key to victory; Seto turned back to his hand, after a little he insisted Yami attack but far more calmly so Yami complied and destroyed Death Guardius.

**Mask of Light – LP: 4000 – LP: 3800**

With the destruction of the monster Mask of Light revealed that by being destroyed, Death Guardius allowed for the activation of the Mask of Testament which attached onto Magnet Valkyrion and allowed it to be taken over by the Rare Hunters meaning that they would now be able to attack both of our friends directly and end this duel, Mask of Light wanted to defeat Seto for humiliating him earlier so Mask of Darkness was to destroy Yami.

"My turn. Got it. Masquerade Ball. This card allows me to control Mask of Light's monsters this turn," Mask of Darkness stated. As Mask of Darkness activated his card a rainbow glow to emerge from the card and surround Magnet Valkyrion. "Go Magnet Valkyrion. Attack Yugi directly!" Mask of Darkness commanded. The combined creature flew towards the ancient spirit and I became worried about what would happen to him.

"I'm not so sure of that! Set card open! Fusion Release!" Yami revealed. Valkyrion wasn't a typical monster as it technically employed a different type of Fusion known as Contact Fusion but because things were still being worked out the rules surrounding it were complicated although Fusion Release did work as it returned Alpha, Beta and Gamma to the field. "Remember this! Your anger is no match against us!" Yami warned.

"My turn! I'll let you fools see God once again," Seto announced. I furrowed my eyebrows wondering how this would be possible since that Trap card sealed off any attempt for them to summon via sacrifices and that was what Obelisk needed and even the Rare Hunters found this an absurd idea. "That card restricts us from sacrificing our **own** monsters. Then I'll just sacrifice **your** monsters instead! With this, the Magic card Cross Soul! I'll sacrifice your Magnet Warriors!" Seto responded.

Naturally the Rare Hunters were stunned by this occurrence but it just showed what Yami and Seto were capable of when they put aside their pride and worked together, the three monsters were sacrificed and the colossal Obelisk rose onto the field, its' immense size was still rather shocking even though I'd already seen it but no other monster came close to this beast, Osiris could fly and that toned down its' size somewhat but Obelisk didn't and that added to it in a strange way.

**Giant Divine Soldier of Obelisk – Attribute: God, Type: Phantom God Beast, Level: 10, ATK/4000, DEF/4000**

Obelisk delivered a strike to the defenceless Mask of Darkness which annihilated the rest of his Life Points and caused the man to collapse onto the glass ceiling, Seto reminded the two that with his Life Points gone that meant that the trap they'd set for our friends would now be sprung on Mask of Darkness instead.

**Mask of Darkness – LP: 2000 – LP: 0**

The explosion went off which caused spider webs to crack across the reflective surface and Mask of Darkness tried to flee but he was unable to escape in time as the glass crumbled away beneath his feet and he went plummeting into the building so me and Kylie ran up to the edge of the glass to see what happened to him, he managed to loose a parachute which caught on a pole hang out, Mask of Light called down to him but no response came.

"Parachute, eh? Well I expected that of you guys from the star, not much off a 'Death Match' now is it? You no longer have any hopes of defeating us. How about you surrender?" Yami mocked. However Seto protested this course of action, due to the rules of a Tag Match and his own intention to punish the Rare Hunter. "Wait Kaiba! There's no reason to harm him as well. Such an act will tarnish our humanity as Duelists," Yami protested. Seto claimed that crushing them was his humanity but in that moment Marik took over Mask of Light as evidence by the glowing eye half visible.

"I saw Obelisk clearly! The power of the god is really strong!" Marik announced. Yami demanded that he stop hiding and come show himself but I doubted that would happen as Marik caused his puppet to laugh and Seto noticed the personality change and Yami had to explain the mind controlling to him but Seto believed this impossible although he did wonder by who.

"Marik, the leader of Ghouls. He organised the theft of my Guardians and was the person who had a hold of Osiris and I'm assuming he currently has Ra," Kylie spoke up. Everyone turned to look at us as we stepped onto the glass to stand with our friends, Seto asked if he really had Ra even calling it by the cards full name making it clear that whoever had given Seto Obelisk knew of the other two God cards as well.

"Pleased to meet you Kaiba-kun. Right, right! I thank you for getting rid of my weak underlings in this duel. They were simply here to buy me some time, my plans proceed as scheduled. To start, these Rare Hunters have allowed me to witness the entirety of you decks. There's no way you four can beat my deck and moreover, my Ra holds a hidden terrifying power, stronger than both of your cards. It's the strongest card in existence. There's one more part to my plan and Yugi, that is related to our fight that has lasted over three thousand years… you must perish at my hands to erase the anger of the Tomb Keepers Tribe and settle my revenge. In order to ensure my revenge, I've prepared a few extra soldiers on my team. The little followers you call friends have already fallen under my control and have become warriors that will be used against you," Marik revealed.

"Marik! What have you done to Jounouchi-kun and the others?" Yami questioned. Marik claimed they'd become puppets which served to make Yami rather mad since that meant Marik was controlling them like the other Rare Hunters we'd run into, Marik dared the ancient spirit to come to his location and fight Jounouchi to the death. "Marik! You bastard!" Yami cursed. Seto then took over and went to demand answers about Mokuba even walking over to Mask of Light and lifting him off the ground and demanding the boy's return.

However Marik didn't understand or was mocking the CEO so Yami explained Marik was only controlling him so threatening Mask of Light was a pointless endeavour; Seto dropped him and after letting out a laugh Mask of Light fainted implying that Marik had cut the connection so Yami asked for Seto help as Mokuba would be were our friends were and Seto agreed whilst giving Yami his sixth locator card along with Seto, so we were all qualified to enter the finals.

Yami got annoyed and claimed now wasn't the time or place for such things and Seto turned away but didn't say anything as a helicopter rose to hover over the roof and low and behold Mokuba was inside it; apparently Anzu helped him to escape but he only knew her location so Seto told us to get on so that he could repay his debt to her as was his policy.

We loaded onto the helicopter and this time around Kylie and Mokuba were able to track Jounouchi's Duel Disk making it known this was effectively a trap for us, the signal was coming from Domino Port so the pilot set off for that location and I could only hope that we made it in time to save our friend from the psychopath that was currently attacking us.


	19. Chapter 19

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback, or something in another language.**

**I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 19: - Heartless Duel

I rubbed my eyes which were growing weary from staring at a computer screen for so long but I kept tapping the keyboard trying to find a way into the harbour cameras and see if I could get any information of Jounouchi and the others or Marik and the Rare Hunters since we were getting closer to whatever trap Marik had laid for us.

"The man aiming for the God Cards, the one who stole Kylie's Guardians and the leader of the Ghouls… he was called Marik, right?" Seto asked. I raised my head to look at the brunette with Katherine, Yami and Mokuba doing the same thing. "What do you know about the man who owns the Winged Divine Dragon of Ra?" Seto added on. I wasn't surprised to know that he was curious but there wasn't much we could tell him about this psychopath except his motivations.

"I've never seen him face to face, all I know is that, like me, he owns a Millennium Item," Yami admitted. However Seto was quick to dismiss this information, even referring to it as occult nonsense, even though he had direct experience with the power of one of the very items that he was dismissing and not even that along ago to boot.

"Says the guy who had his soul ripped out and stuff into a card **a month** ago by the power of a Millennium Item," I retorted. Seto shot me a glare with Yami agreeing with me as he reminded Seto about experiencing Pegasus' Millennium Item, this caused Seto's expression to sour making it known that the brunette did indeed remember what had happened at Duelist Kingdom as did Mokuba's fearful face, Seto insisted it was some kind of trick.

"To believe or not to believe is your freedom, but… my true identity is a soul trapped within the Millennium Puzzle," Yami admitted. Both Seto and Mokuba started in shock but then Seto's eyes darted to the two of us as he realised neither me or Katherine were surprised by this sudden revelation. "Right, the me right now is Yugi but also not Yugi at the same time. Muto Yugi awakened me when he completed the Millennium Puzzle. I'm his other personality, it is why Kylie gave me the name Yami," Yami continued on. Seto was having a hard time understanding this whole situation, not that I blamed him.

"Impossible, if you're not Yugi, what the hell** are **you?" Seto asked. In response I handed Katherine my laptop and then reached over to flick the CEO in the centre of the forehead causing him to flinch backwards in response to my actions as I gave him a heavy glare for the words that he had just used, I then sat back into my chair.

"He isn't a **what** Kaiba Seto. Yami is a human being so you should have said **who**!" I insisted. Yami smiled in response and then explained that he was a Pharaoh from Ancient Egypt but had lost his memories which further added to Seto and Mokuba's shock; surprising Seto revealed he'd encountered Ishizu at the museum and had been shown the tablet that we'd seen yet he still dismissed what he'd seen with his own eyes and claimed we were shown images by her as well.

Yami dismissed this preconception and explained what we'd been warned about instead and went on to explain that Marik's objective was to obtain the three God Cards along with killing Yami as he was the Pharaoh's soul; Mokuba was slightly overwhelmed by the amount of information that was being throw about in this discussion.

"Don't go buying it Mokuba," Seto insisted. I restrained an eyeroll at the stubbornness with which he refused to believe all the evidence he'd been presented. "Yugi, do you really believe in such baseless stories?" Seto asked. Yami insisted that Seto had seen the evidence with his own eyes due to the God cards that Seto and Yami had summoned and Marik subsequent possession of the duelists that have been opposing them at the times of those summons.

"It's stated in psychology that it's possible to control human beings through brainwashing," Seto stated. However that caused an outburst and it surprisingly didn't come from me, a loud banging sound came making us all jump as we looked over to see that Katherine had her right hand planted against the metal hull thus displaying the Millennium Gauntlet as she raised her dark eyes to glare at the brunette CEO.

"We're serious Seto! A psychopath is hunting Yugi and Yami down to kill them! And he's also after you because of Obelisk! He's already kidnapped our friends and has arranged several death matches to try and kill Yami! We aren't screwing around by telling you lies!" Katherine ranted. Me and Yami reached over to settle a hand on her in order to calm her down, which worked, and then Yami stated that Jounouchi and the others being kidnapped because of him was a fact.

We were in visual range of Domino Harbour by this time so our conversation was stalled as the helicopter began to reach our destination; however the silence was broken by Seto warning us that Jounouchi had probably been turned into a puppet so that the blonde could be used against Yami and even admitted that he would do such a thing.

"Kaiba! I don't know what he's up to, but if it means saving Jounouchi-kun, I'll gladly put my life on the line!" Yami responded. Seto shot back that Yami was making a serious self-contradiction which confused the ancient spirit so Seto went on to state he had learn of the power of cooperation from his duel with Yugi against the Rare Hunters but then ask that if Yami and Jounouchi were to fight then where would that power lie in such a situation.

"In Jounouchi's heart," Katherine stated. At those words we turned to look at my sister who was looking at her lap as she played with the hem of her skirt. "Marik only has control over his mind **but** not his heart. If we can break through to Jounouchi's heart then we might be able to break Marik's control," Katherine explained. It was at that moment that Mokuba spotted someone on the harbour so I looked out as my eyes widened at the person I saw down there.

"That's Jounouchi!" I exclaimed. Yami stated Katherine's theory would soon be proven and Seto claimed it was interesting as the helicopter descended to the harbour and landed so we promptly got out and moved in front of the vehicle to stand across from the blonde who was staring at us but his gaze was different; Seto was right, Jounouchi was under Marik's control but the lack of a glowing eye made it clear that Marik was using a different kind of manipulation this time around.

"I've been waiting for you to show up Yugi," Jounouchi spoke. Mokuba was quick to catch on that our friend was acting different to his usual personality, Yami call out our friend and tried to rouse his true personality. "Wake up? I'm **wide** awake! I'm more than awake enough to beat you to a pulp! Yugi, you can't run away from me or this duel! A duel with our very lives on the line fighting until our last breaths!" Jounouchi declared. It felt like a lead weight settled in my stomach at those words and my mouth ran dry as well.

"Big brother, just what…?" Mokuba asked. However Seto didn't really answer the question as he instead stated a duelist needed to crush all challengers before them even if they were friends and it was the way of a duelists. "The way… of a duelist?" Mokuba asked. I didn't like this scenario but there wasn't anything we could do given the situation, unless we finally got a hold of Marik and took the Millennium Rod from him; Katherine had already tried cutting the bond but the thread was stronger than before making it harder to sever so she had to take to carefully clipping it apart otherwise Jounouchi's mind could be destroyed.

"Jounouchi-kun, listen to me. I want to duel you in Battle City from the bottom of my heart! But as **True** Duelists! With our **pride** on the line!" Yami called. However Jounouchi gave no response when Yami brought up the promise that they'd made on the first day. "Those words touched me. I think the reason we've got this far… was so I could keep that promise with you, I truly believe that. But this battle is a **trap** set by Marik! This isn't the **true** duel we promised each other!" Yami pleaded. Sadly all Jounouchi did was to turn around an encourage Yami to follow him to where they'd engage in a duel of death, Yami desperately called out to his friend.

"It's no use Yugi. No matter what you say, you can't escape this duel with Jounouchi," Marik's voice came. We turned around to look at the ship that was beside the helicopter's landing place and coming down the steps was Anzu of all people causing my eyes to narrow as Yami called out to her. "Jounouchi has become my puppet and his emotions and memory are being controlled by my anger!" Marik admitted. However his voice had come out of Anzu when she moved her mouth, that meant two of them were being held prisoner by the madman.

Anzu walked right passed us so Yami chased after her making the rest of us run after him until we came upon a part of the harbour that jutted out into the sea with a wooden square platform with a hole in the middle exposing the sea and scaffolding at the sides which held an anchor than hung above the hole, I **did not** like the look of this set up at all; Yami stepped onto the wooden platform whilst the rest of us hung back and the ancient spirit asked about this place being their duel stage.

"Before the duel begins, you will each attach these handcuffs to your ankles," Anzu/Marik insisted. The handcuffs were clamped on and I noticed the chains connected each male to the anchor hovering above the sea which Yami also noticed and this caused Jounouchi to reveal that the weight of the anchor was three hundred kilograms and when either of the player's Life Points dropped to zero, the bomb would explode within thirty seconds and it would fall, Yami was then told take a look at his feet so we did as instructed and my eyes widened at what I found.

At each duelists feet sat a box identical to the ones Pandora had used in his duel against Yami and they served the same purpose, each had the Life Points of the opponent on them and once that number hit zero it would open with a key being inside that would unlock the cuff of the person who stood over the box, that meant that one of them was going to be dragged to the bottom of the ocean and drown; I felt Katherine begin to tremble when she realised the same thing.

"You can't! There's no way I can have such a dangerous duel with Jounouchi-kun!" Yami protested. However Marik wouldn't let the ancient spirit escape from this scenario as Anzu sat in a chair that proceeded to extend locks that secured both her wrists to the arms of the chair and then her legs to the body of the chair since there weren't any legs and the timer on the bomb started with it being revealed that there was forty minutes until the bomb went off anyway and both duelists were dragged in.

"We have to stop them, big brother! Kylie! Katherine! We can't accept this duel" Mokuba exclaimed. The boy was right but what the hell could we possibly do, I didn't doubt that Marik could remotely detonate the bomb and the moment we tried to save them the anchor would be dropped before we could do anything, our only option was to find some way to jam the Solid Vision system long enough for me and Katherine to find Marik and stop him.

"I can't accept this! I will **not** let Marik do what he wants in this Battle City!" Seto declared. As the organiser he did technically have the authority to overturn any duel, however a rumbling sound came from our right making us all look in that direction and my blood drained away as we spotted a crane carrying a large container roll along another pier until it stopped so that the container hung above Anzu, Yami turned around to see the scenario as well.

"Oh no!" Katherine exclaimed. Marik revealed that there was a bomb on the hook holding up the container and if we attempted anything, even Katherine cutting the hold as Marik revealed, then one of his goons would press the switch thus dropping the container onto Anzu; I **don't** like the girl but I **didn't** want to see her die. Seto was shocked that Marik had sunk this low.

"You clearly forgot me mentioning the Buzzsaws one of his minions used before," I commented. However my tone was shaky and it was getting difficult for me to remain calm given what was going on, especially when Marik released control of Anzu so that she could watch the duel as well; naturally she was confused but we couldn't explain the situation to her given that Marik used Jounouchi to demand that Yami not use Osiris so that it wouldn't fall into the sea with the ancient spirit.

In response Yami unclipped one of his belts as that was where the God Card was kept, he opened the pouch and removed a card from it which he then put into his deck and shuffled it; something told me that card was Red-Eyes and it was probably the key to bringing back Jounouchi, after putting Red-Eyes it Yami tossed the belt and pouch onto the floor as Marik demanded… if he thought he'd get the God card then he had another thing coming.

With all the preparations out of the way, including ensuring that me, Katherine, Seto and Mokuba were caught between a rock and a hard place and that Yami was suffering knowing his actions endangered at least one of Yugi's and his friends, the duel got underway; suddenly my mobile began to vibrate so I pulled it out and looked at the caller I. D. and found it was Honda… did that mean he was safe?

"Answer it Kylie Hope!" Jounouchi ordered. I glared at him but proceeded to hold the phone to my ear closely and answered it, letting Honda speak after greeting him, apparently he was looking for Jounouchi because Shizuka was hoping to take off her bandages and see Jounouchi dueling as her first sight; given the situation I couldn't let that happen but then Jououchi smiled cruelly. "So, my little sister is in town along with another friend. Maybe I'll invite them here was well," Marik threatened through Jounouchi. I gritted my teeth in response and decided to risk warning the brunette.

"Honda run! And don't you fucking stop no matter what! Guys in purple robes are after you two in order get to Yugi! They've already got Anzu and Jounouchi! Don't tell Shizuka! Just! Run!" I commanded. Honda shakily complied and hung up the phone, however Jounouchi's face never lost its' cruel smile as he commanded Yami to take the first turn. "Let's hope Honda can last long enough for us to do something. Brainstorming guys," I insisted. Seto nodded as we kept our eyes locked on the deadly duel about to take place.

**Jounouchi – LP: 4000**

**Yugi – LP: 4000**

Yami hesitated for a few moments as Jounouchi goaded the ancient spirit into making a move so the ancient spirit complied by summoning out Gazelle in defence mode and ended his turn; I knew Yami didn't want to hurt his dearest friend but he had to realise that in order to rescue his friends, then Yami would have to take far more aggressive actions in this duel.

**Phantom Beast King Gazelle – Attribute: Earth, Type: Beast, Level: 4, ATK/1500, DEF/1200**

"**My** turn," Jounouchi stated. He then drew a card from his deck, with all the illegal activities that the Ghouls got up to I wouldn't be surprised if there were now Rare, Counterfeit or Illegal cards in the blonde's deck especially since that would give Marik and unfair advantage as Yami would now be blindsided by those unexpected cards. "Here goes, my card is… Thunder Bolt!" Jounouchi announced. Lightning struck Gazelle destroying it as per Thunder Bolt's effect leaving Yami wide open for an attack. "Then I summon Wyvern Warrior to the field," Jounouchi continued.

**Wyvern Warrior – Attribute: Earth, Type: Beast, Level: 4, ATK/1500, DEF/1200**

With a monster on the field and Yami completely defenceless it was clear to a blind man what was going to happen next, Wyvern Warrior attacked the ancient spirit directly thus dealing a heavy amount of damage to him with one attack, I bit down onto my lip as I forced myself to stay still despite a deep urge to intervene and stop this monstrosity of a duel from occurring.

**Yugi – LP: 4000 – LP: 2500**

"What's **wrong** Yugi? You're not so tough after all. But it's way too early to start fearing me! Now bring it Yugi!" Jounouchi goaded. Yami complied and drew a card from his deck which he proceeded to play revealing it was Big Shield Gardna and he summoned that in defence mode but once more that was the only move he made, causing my teeth to bite slightly harder on my bottom lip, any more pressure and the skin would break.

**Big Shield Gardna – Attribute: Earth, Type: Warrior, Level: 4, ATK/100, DEF/2600**

"It's no use pulling out a defence monster… my turn. I'm going to use **this** against you!" Jounouchi declared. He held a card and proceeded to turn it around to reveal that the card he was holding was actually Fire Ball which caused my throat to tightened as that Magic card would deal five hundred points of damage to the opponent.

Jounouchi activated the card causing fire to stream towards Yami which engulfed his body in flames and my heart twisted painfully when I heard him screaming from within that blazing wreath, Seto was angry about this since Magics like Fire Ball that dealt direct damage to the player had been banned in this tournament unless they had a cost attached to their activation like my Ara.

"You really think these monsters play by the rules!" Katherine cried. I glanced at my sister to find her tightly clinging to my pants as tears misted her eyes and soaked her cheeks, I knelt down and looped an arm around her shoulders in an attempt to comfort her as her arms wrapped around me ensuring that I was properly grounded as this duel was liable to get worse before it got any better and it also gave me some slight comfort.

**Yugi – LP: 2500 – LP: 2000**

The flames eventually died down leaving only smoke rising from Yami's body as Marik used Jounouchi to mock Yami getting hit by the Magic card, after that things fell silent around the two as Yami recovered from the assault; Marik then insisted that Yami continue the duel so he drew a card; at that moment Anzu started to protest to the duel not believing that Jounouchi had joined up with the Ghouls.

"Jounouchi… seems to be under the control of this Marik guy in charge of the Ghouls," Mokuba spoke up. Anzu repeated the 'under control' part with a confused expression on her face as she turned to look at the ongoing duel. "He said he's avenging his clan for three thousand years of suffering… I… I don't get any of it at all!" Mokuba exclaimed. Anzu once more repeated some of what Mokuba said which only confused her even more and I was getting rather annoyed with her.

However at that moment the minion in the crane called out to Anzu and told her to keep quiet or else he was going to drop the container on her causing the brunette to finally realise her precarious situation but instead of being scared, Anzu went ahead and dared the Ghoul to actually carry through with his threat but she then turned back to the four of us.

"Katherine-san, Kylie-san, Kaiba-kun, Mokuba-kun! Forget about me! Stop Jounouchi and Yugi!" Anzu pleaded. Seto looked deeply conflicted about what to do whilst Mokuba looked at the container threatening Anzu's life and protested taking such an action, I looked at the brunette as I tightly gripped my little sister who had only started to cry harder upon hearing Anzu's plea.

"We can't! Yugi, Yami and Jounouchi would never forgive us! Not if we let you… if we let…," I argued. However I couldn't say the dread word as my throat choked up with tears burning the edges of my eyes but I didn't dare let them fall. "_Shit! Seto we've got to do something! Sitting here doing nothing is damn near killing me!_" I snapped in English. Seto nodded his head in understanding as we looked back at the duel as Marik egged Yami to make his move, Yami did by setting a face down and playing Kuriboh in attack mode.

**Kuriboh – Attribute: Dark, Type: Fiend, Level: 1, ATK/300, DEF/200**

The move was clearly a baited trap… or at least that'd be what I'd think if this was a normal duel however given the current situation when Jounouchi assumed that Yami was going to sacrifice himself so that Jounouchi could survive, I was begrudgingly inclined to agree with the psychopath… at least up until Yami declared he wasn't going to die and refused to let Jounouchi die either.

Jounouchi dismissed such a notion and commanded Wyvern Warrior to attack Kuriboh, at that moment Yami activated his face down which turned out to be the Curse of Hexagram – well what do you know?! My first guess was right after all – Jounouchi was shocked by the occurrence especially since the trap not only reduced Wyvern Warrior's attack but also prevented its' attack from going through.

**Wyvern Warrior – ATK/1500 – ATK/800**

"That's no use Yugi! That won't work against his Banned deck!" Seto argued. He was right about that fact since there would be plenty of cards that would deal damage to Yami without attacking the ancient spirit; Anzu thought begging them to stop would work but it didn't as Jounouchi admitted all he needed to do was deplete Yami's Life Points and proceeded to activate another Fire Ball

Once more flames engulfed Yami, this time sending his jacket flying away, and screams rose from within the flames causing me to flinch back as Katherine rose her hands cover her ears in a desperate attempt to drown out the agonised screams that came from our friend whilst Jounouchi began to laugh at the sight.

**Yugi – LP: 2000 – LP: 1500**

"YAMI!" I screamed. The fire faded and the ancient spirit was left smoking once more and he ended up stumbling from the force and pain he was enduring; That. Was. It. There had to be something that we could do to stop this disgusting duel and rescue all of those whose lives were being threatened by this damned monster.


	20. Chapter 20

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback, or something in another language.**

**Thank you to randomguy77 for your review. I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 20: - Reach Out!

"_Everyone! Spread out and find Honda and Shizuka! Make sure they aren't caught by the Ghouls! Get Otogi or Mai to them and made sure they escape to somewhere safe!_" Kylie commanded in a whisper. I looked through my teary eyes to see that both of our Duel Spirits had gathered to support us and they all nodded and flew off into the city in order to protect our friends as best they could.

Only Kylie's Guardians, Hydros and my secret duo along with a massive hidden form remained behind to protect us as they never left our sides even if we did order it, their duty was to remain at our sides no matter; Anzu cried out to her friend as Jounouchi gloated over the fact that his deck was so powerful now thanks to the banned cards that had been crammed into it.

"Jounouchi-kun! D-don't you feel pain in your duelist's heart?" Yami asked. Sadly the possessed boy was forced to dismiss such a notion by the monster controlling him as Yami managed to regain his balance taking the strong posture I was used to seeing him with. "The pain I'm feeling right now isn't from the burning sensation of your **cards**… it's the pain of my **sadness** seeing you lose your heart as a duelist!" Yami added on. Amazingly Jounouchi's sick gleeful expression fell into a solemn one

"Yugi. I will **crush** you!" Jounouchi promised. Yami called out to the boy once more however the blonde ignored him instead wanting the ancient spirit to get on with his turn; Yami didn't immediately make a move as Anzu called out to her friend to try and get him to break free of his possession however a light suddenly glowed from the Millennium Puzzle causing my eyes to widen as I wiped away my tears as the glow faded to reveal Yugi standing there.

"Wh-! Yugi! What's going on!?" Kylie exclaimed. It was a fair point she made since even I couldn't understand why the two boys had decided to swap control so suddenly, knowing there was only one way to get some answers so I mentally grabbed a hold of the link between me and Yugi and proceeded to send a jolt of my emotions which comprised of panic, terror, worry and confusion down the link causing Yugi to physically start as he looked at me.

"_What is going on Yugi?_" I asked. The boy looked at his hand before turning his gaze back to me as he sent another surge of emotions back to me, reassurance, determination, hope and faith; I began to understand even without the boy telling me why exactly he had taken this course of action but I still wanted him to tell him so I sent a rush of demand back towards him causing Yugi to sigh in the physical plane.

"_Well… I think I had get through to Jounouchi-kun's heart also I want to prove that me and Jounouchi-kun became friends through my own power,_" Yugi explained. I nodded my head and let go of the link allowing Yugi to focus on the duel although I did wonder how Marik was possibly reacting to the sudden swap, especially since he seemed to hell bent on destroying the Pharaoh.

"It's my turn," Yugi announced. He reached for the top card of his deck and touched it but he stopped moving so I adjusted my eyes and saw Yami's image hovering slightly behind Yugi, the ancient spirit was probably providing advice or support to the boy he shared a body with and I guess he was prepared to swap with Yugi if things got too dangerous for the young boy.

"Please tell me Yugi has a plan?" Kylie softly asked. I nodded my head and went on to quietly explain what Yugi was hoping to accomplish by trading places with Yami, I felt Kylie's grip on me tighten as I finished explaining the situation. "If things go ugly, we move. I'll get the boys whilst you save Anzu," Kylie insisted. It was dangerous but it was a necessary risk we'd have to take to save them.

Yami's image faded away as Yugi proceeded to draw a card and look at it, suddenly a link from Ares came to my mind as he revealed that he'd found Honda with Shizuka but both of them were cornered by Ghouls so after asking for his permission I proceeded to look through my Duel Spirit's eyes as Honda allowed Shizuka to slide off of his back so that he could fight the Ghouls off, I used my magic to channel some of Ares' physical capabilities into Honda as Athena arrived so I switched to her and enhanced Honda's mental capabilities in regards to analysis, unfortunately it would only last for a minute.

The Ghouls made threats towards the two but I had to pull out of my Spirits before my mind decided to slip away from my body and permanently take up residence in Athena; when I came back to my body a dull headache formed in the back of my mind as Kylie rubbed her hand up and down my arm in an act of reassurance.

"_Otogi's being guided towards them, let's hope he reaches them before Honda's beaten_," Kylie whispered in English. I nodded my head in understanding, soon we received a message from our Spirit Partners that Otogi had reached the two of them and all three of them had managed to escape from the Ghouls that had cornered them, I felt like I could breathe a little easier knowing that Jounouchi's little sister wasn't in immediate danger of being used by Marik.

Looking back at the duel I saw that Yugi was done observing the card he'd drawn and was instead focused on his possessed friend as Yugi declared that he was going to fight in order to reclaim Jounouchi's heart and prove their friendship and it was then that I saw the Spirit of Red-Eyes hover behind Yugi and I wondered if the card he'd drawn had been that very dragon.

"It's your turn, you know!" Jounouchi called. Yugi didn't immediately make a move causing Jounouchi to demand that he hurry up, Yugi looked at his hand before raising his amethyst eyes and staring at the blonde with a determined and fierce expression in his eyes; Anzu took that moment to try and remind Jounouchi of the past by bringing up some circle of friendship they made and that its' vow was still in their hearts.

"She does realise that no mere words have helped so far. Actions speak louder than words, so if we're going to smack Jounouchi back to normal Yugi has to do it in this duel," Kylie commented. I think that my sister was right in her analysis and hopefully the move that Yugi was about to make would send a piercing strike right into Marik's mind control and awaken Jounouchi's heart.

"It's all she can do, she's known them longer than us and is both more powerless and more expressive than either of us. Talking is her only weapon Kylie," I responded. My sister only gave a hum in response as she continued to keep a grip on me so that we would continue to draw support from the other as this accursed duel continued onwards.

"Here I go. Exchange!" Yugi announced. My eyes widened as this since it wasn't the action I thought the boy would take as I had half expected the boy to Advance Summon Red-Eyes onto the field so I did have to wonder why Yugi had decided to use a Magic card that allows both players to look at their opponent's hand and swap one card from the opponent's hand into their own.

Suddenly the memory of Jounouchi and Yami's promise on the first day of Battle City came into my mind as I realised that, that promise would just as easily rouse Jounouchi's heart as Red-Eyes would because it was something he deeply desired to attain and breaking that promise by taking Red-Eyes before Jounouchi believed he was ready would be something Jounouchi couldn't allow.

The other spectators and Jounouchi also seemed to be confused by the card that Yugi had played, Jounouchi quickly recovered and so he made his way around to where Yugi stood – fortunately the chains that linked the two to the anchors were fairly long – I lightly pressed my teeth to my bottom lip as I watched the scene that was about to occur, upon reaching Yugi Jounouchi/Marik demanded to see Yugi's hand.

Yugi complied and the moment Jounouchi's eyes spotted the cards in the young boy's hand, the blonde's eyes widened as the name of his most precious monster slipped passed his lips in shock; Yugi's eyes had closed as he encouraged his possessed friend to take whichever of the five cards he held , however Jounouchi's eyes had shrunk to the size of pinpricks and he was completely frozen in shock no doubt focused on Red-Eyes.

I noticed that Yugi was struggling with the decision he made as much as Jounouchi was struggling to actually make a decision which caused my heart to clench tightly in pain, the look in Jounouchi's eyes changed as he reached towards one of Yugi's cards and declared that he was taking his Red-Eyes back which caused my hands to twist together as Kylie swallowed thickly whilst her arm tightened around me briefly yet she still kept her eyes on the duel with ease where as it took every inch of my being to remain watching.

Jounouchi took a hold of the card yet instead of taking it straight away, his fingers began to tremble and that trembling soon spread up his entire arm before a scream tore itself from the blonde as he raised a hand to his head as he questioned why he couldn't take it, this caused Seto and Mokuba to look at the two of us in confusion and they were obviously demanding answers.

"First day of Battle City, Yami dueled a Rare Hunter who'd stolen Jounouchi's Red-Eyes in a duel before it began. Yami won and took it back but Jounouchi refused to take it and only promised to when he became a True Duelist and vowed to face Yami in the finals. Right now Marik's control and Jounouchi's promise are at war within him because Red-Eyes is in Yugi's hand and it's the symbol of their promise," Kylie quickly explained. When she finished Jounouchi pulled a card from Yugi's hand and held it aloft.

"Jounouchi-kun!" Yugi cried out. Jounouchi had taken the card Hand Obliteration instead of Red-Eyes meaning that he had managed to shake Marik's control, whether permanently or just for that moment I wasn't too sure but it was at least a step in the right direction, Jounouchi stayed still for a few moments before he raised his head… his eyes were still blank slates.

"I-I don't **need** monster cards to beat you… my player damaging banned Magic cards are more than enough to crush Yugi!" Jounouchi declared. However Yugi wasn't fazed as he simply reminded his opponent that he was allowed to draw a card from Jounouchi hand now so he did and I noticed it was a Trap card, Jounouchi scoffed and turned to walk back to his side.

"Jounouchi-kun! I know for sure now, that you haven't lost your True Duelist's heart. You swore to battle me in Battle City with your pride on the line and you swore not to use the Red-Eyes Black Dragon until that time came. So… so that's **why** you couldn't take the Red-Eyes!" Yugi insisted. At one point in Yugi's speech Jounouchi had told him to shut up and once Yugi finished Jounouchi told him to shut up once more and claimed what Yugi had just said was a load of crap. "I confirmed it. With this Red-Eyes card, I can call back your heart as a duelist," Yugi insisted.

"Fine by me Yugi. But before you try that shit against me… I'll bring your Life Points to zero and sink you into the sea!" Jounouchi responded. Yugi's answer to that claim was him insisting that his turn wasn't over yet and he proceeded to sacrifice Gardna and Kuriboh allowing him to Advance Summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon onto the field.

**Red-Eyes Black Dragon – Attribute: Dark, Type: Dragon, Level: 7, ATK/2400, DEF/2000**

As Red-Eyes let out a proud roar upon its' summoning, Jounouchi gave another reaction to seeing the dragon by calling out to Red-Eyes and it seemed that the ebony scaled dragon was doing the same to Jounuchi from how it was acting, Mokuba managed to catch on to what Yugi was up to by using that card and Seto asked the big question, would it work.

"Let's hope this works," I commented. Yugi called out to the blonde by saying that the colour of sadness had dyed Red-Eyes luminous scarlet orbs and it was because Red-Eyes also wanted to bring Jounouchi's Duelist heart back to us and Yugi admitted that to do that they would fight and the kind-hearted boy commanded the dark scaled dragon to attack Wyvern Warrior, finally dealing damage to Jounouchi/Marik's Life Points.

**Jounouchi – LP: 4000 – LP: 2400**

The force of the blast had sent Jounouchi to the floor but he soon got to his feet – I did wonder how Marik was taking this course of action – however the blonde claimed that the attack was nothing and then announced it was his turn again and that the Illegal cards he held were going to kill Yugi; things were definitely getting far too dangerous but then Yugi took a hold of the chain holding the Millennium Puzzle making me furrow my eyebrows in confusion.

"No! Let me fight until the end!" Yugi pleaded. He then did the stupidest and most irresponsible thing I'd ever seen the boy do, Yugi **took off** the Millennium Puzzle ensuring that Yami couldn't swap places with him to keep him safe from harm; seeing this I couldn't stop myself as I ripped away from Kylie's grip startling my sister as I ran forward slightly until the goon yelled at me to stop.

"Yugi! What are you doing?!" I cried. Yugi looked at me before looking at the object he held, I felt our link tingle and I realised what Yugi wanted so I closed my eyes and allowed my mind to be pulled away from the physical plane and into the mental one.

_***Yu-Gi-Oh***_

_Appearing in my Soul Room I rushed to the door linking me and Yugi which was already opened so I dashed down the corridor until I reached Yugi's room with the door already being open, I vaguely noted the similarities between my Soul Room and his, but I didn't focus on that as I heard Yami call out 'Partner' from the hallway connecting them so I ran over and saw both him and Yugi standing there._

"_When I solved the Millennium Puzzle, I wished for a friend and when I met you within my heart, I learned to have courage. I made important friends too! But.. somewhere inside of me… I think that if I hadn't met you, I would've stayed a coward. I still feel that way sometimes… that's why I have to get Jounouchi-kun's heart back in this duel with my own strength! So I ask that you just watch My Other Self. And Katherine-chan please respect my wishes," Yugi pleaded. At those words Yugi turned around to face me so I walked over to the boy and took his hands in my own._

"_I don't know why you think that? After all you're the bravest person I know Yugi. Besides a person's strength is never their own, it's the strength of everyone they met and learned from, also it's the strength of your deck that helps you fight," I stated. Yugi's hands tightened around my own as he looked at me but then Yami cleared his throat causing us to turn our attention back to him and I saw the panic on his face._

"_But this is an incredibly dangerous fight, if you make one mistake you could die!" Yami protested. Yugi admitted he knew that but he would trust in Jounouchi until the end, Yami's face lost its' panic and his shoulders sagged as if under some great weight. "I get it… if you insist on going that far, I'll back off. But… don't let yourself die, Other Me!" Yami demanded. Yugi agreed and so with that I left Yugi mind to return to my own._

_***Yu-Gi-Oh***_

My eyes flew open and I found Kylie, Seto and Mokuba looking at me rather worriedly until they all sighed and moved away from my line of sight allowing me to see the duel, Mokuba called out that I was fine to Anzu who was glad by her response whilst Kylie kept a hand on my shoulder and Seto didn't reassert his usual distance between people, Yugi looked at me so I nodded my head at him and he smiled gently before turning back to look at Jounouchi.

"Yugi! How long are you going to stand there for? You'll have plenty of time to think when you're dead! Here goes! My turn!" Jounouchi yelled. He drew a card from his deck and reiterated his claim of not needing monsters and proceeded to activate a third Fire Ball, that Magic was getting to be really annoying and I had to grab onto Kylie **and** Seto to stop myself from running out when Yugi cried after he was hit by the strike.

**Yugi – LP: 1500 – LP: 1000**

"Oh for f-! That had best be the last one! I'm getting sick of that card!" Kylie yelled. I noticed she'd stopped herself from cursing but said nothing as it was a habit she tried to adhere to strictly, although sometimes the situation just demanded a curse or two and I think this one certainly counted; our Duel spirits checked in and revealed that Honda, Otogi and Shizuka were still on the run but currently safe.

Jounouchi mocked Yugi who was still on his knees from the assault with Anzu once more called out to Jounouchi and then turned to the rest of us and demanded that we stop standing around and actually do something so Kylie took the opportunity to take a step away from me and she gestured sharply to the container hovering precariously above the brunette girl.

"Hello! Bomb on crane holding container above **your** head! Ghoul will set off **if** we do **anything**! Katherine moving forward just then nearly did it! You being… gone, would hurt Yugi and Jounouchi, along with Honda more than anything else! You're important to them so stow it Anzu!" Kylie snapped. She then turned back to us and moved to stand close to Seto who looked down at my sister. "_Please tell me you have a plan? I do but it's risky and requires confusion,_" Kylie admitted in English.

"I just… can't bring your life Points to zero after all... so, I'd like you to just hear my wish…" Yugi asked. He proceeded to move around the wooden platform towards Jounouchi, who claimed that he didn't care, and continued on with his turn by summoning out Rocket Warrior, so much for not needing monsters to defeat Yugi.

**Rocket Warrior – Attribute: Light, Type: Warrior, Level: 4, ATK/1500, DEF/1300**

"Any monster this guy attacks has its' attack reduced by five hundred after damage calculation! Also it can't be destroyed in battle and I won't take any battle damage!" Jounouchi explained. That wasn't a good thing since Jounouchi would only need to attack Red-Eyes twice in order to reduce its' attack points in order to do damage to Yugi, said boy was still making his way around as he called out to his friend. "I then play the Magic card War of Attrition. Here I go, this is my Battle Phase, Rocket Warrior! Transform into your Invincible Mode! Attack Red-Eyes!" Jounouchi commanded. As he did Yugi stated that he wanted to give Jounouchi his Puzzle.

**Red-Eyes Black Dragon – ATK/2400 – ATK/1900**

Rocket Warrior's attack had torn through Red-Eyes' left wing causing it to let out a roar of pain yet Yugi kept going as he admitted that he didn't want the Puzzle to sink into the sea however the blonde wasn't listening as he went on to activate War of Attrition's effect which proceeded to reduce Red-Eyes' attack by Rocket Warrior's attack, making the beautiful dragon even weaker than before.

**Red-Eyes Black Dragon – ATK/1900 – ATK/400**

As a result of the sudden and massive weakening, Red-Eyes proceeded to collapse to the floor as it let out a soft cry and for a moment Jounouchi's face was gleeful at the damage that he'd inflicted upon his precious dragon but then Red-Eyes let out another mournful cry; that cry caused Jounouchi to freeze as his eyes widened and he then gripped his head with a hand and then collapsed to his, all the while Yugi continued his approach and reached our possessed friend just as the blonde collapsed to his knees.

"Jounouchi-kun… I want you… to keep my Millennium Puzzle," Yugi admitted. I couldn't see Jounouchi's expression but I did see Yugi's motions as he put the Millennium Puzzle around the blonde's neck. "In my place," Yugi finished. I hoped that whatever Yugi was attempting to accomplish by giving his Puzzle to Jounouchi would work.


	21. Chapter 21

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback, or something in another language.**

**I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 21: - Countdown to Despair

I was deeply concerned about whatever Yugi was up to, not only had he taken over the duel but he'd removed the Millennium Puzzle preventing Yami from stepping in and protecting the boy if things got too dangerous and then to make things even worse he'd gone and given the Puzzle to Jounouchi who was currently possessed by a psycho that wanted to kill Yami and destroying the Puzzle seemed like a sure fire way to accomplish that objective.

Yugi was making his way back around to his side and despite my concerns Jounouchi wasn't making any move to dispose of the Puzzle but whether that was because his friendship with Yugi was actually getting through to his heart like Katherine thought or because Marik hadn't given the order to do so I didn't know.

Sadly Yugi wasn't looking so well as his face was rather pale with dark marks under his eyes, forcing me to recall his Shadow Game against Pegasus, add that fact on top of the fact that we were nearing the halfway point of this duel nearing the worst possible conclusion since the bomb atop the anchor had reached its' twentieth minute, we just had several additional seconds attached to that minute.

Yugi reached his side and the duel could now resume as Jounouchi had risen to his feet yet seemed to be deeply conflicted about some unknown struggle but I just knew it was connected to the Millennium Item he'd just received; my throat constricted as Jounouchi grabbed the chain holding the Puzzle whilst Katherine breathed in sharply and my heart began to pound in my chest as Jounouchi removed the object as he announced that he had won.

Jounouchi adjusted his hands to hold the actual Puzzle and then proceeded to remove the piece holding the Eye of Wadjet before enclosing that piece in his fist and he reeled his arm back clearly prepared to throw it into the sea, so I gripped Katherine's shoulder and she pivoted to face the crane threating Anzu whilst I remained focused on the actual duel as our magics began to pulse beneath the surface of our skin.

However just like during the Exchange scenario, Jounouchi froze up as his arm began to shake under some burden until the blonde let out a curse and he dropped to his knees causing my magic to fall asleep due to my shock and Katherine stopped her own mystic pulse as everyone watched the blonde wondering what he was going to do; amazingly Jounouchi got to his feet and put the removed piece back into the Puzzle then returned the object to resting around his neck.

"I'm… a duelist…," Jounouchi spoke. I looked at Katherine who shrugged her shoulders obviously not quite understanding the comment herself, the blonde picked up his cards which had been dropped when he collapsed and turned to look at Yugi. "I could care less about some 'revenge for what happened three thousand years ago' crap, right now I'm going to settle this in a **duel**! Yugi! It's your turn!" Jounouchi declared. Perhaps Yugi was beginning to break through to Jounouchi, sadly we only had a little over fourteen minutes left before Yugi and Jounouchi got pulled under and there seemed to be no definite escape for the both of them unless someone intervened.

"My turn! Since the effect of your Rocket Warrior is gone, Red-Eyes attack power increases by five hundred!" Yugi declared. That was probably the only bit of good news at this point in the duel, now all that need to happened was the rescue of all three captured individuals and the knowledge that Honda, Otogi and Shizuka had successfully found somewhere safe to hide.

**Red-Eyes Black Dragon – ATK/400 – ATK/900**

Yugi drew a card from his deck but didn't make a move immediately probably analysing the current situation he was stuck in and any possible ways to get out of said situation whilst also managing to bring Jounouchi back to his senses, Yugi made his move by setting two cards face down and then summoning Magnet Warrior Beta to the field in attack mode.

**Magnet Warrior β – Attribute: Earth, Type: Rock, Level: 4, ATK/1700, DEF/1600**

"Draw!" Jounouchi announced. He took the card and looked at it, his blank face was so unlike the normal full of life boy which made it much harder to read his face than any other times. "I'll… win?" Jounouchi spoke. I wondered if Marik was goading and guiding which moves the blonde made in this duel and some words might be him responding to Marik. "Beat… Yugi?" Jounouchi questioned. After a brief moment Jounouchi proceeded to summon out Jet-Black Panther Soldier.

**Jet-Black Panther Soldier – Panther Warrior – Attribute: Earth, Type: Beast-Warrior, Level: 4, ATK/2000, DEF/1600**

That monster couldn't attack without a sacrifice in the form of another monster or a token but if it did attack Red-Eyes then that was it for this duel and that meant that me and Katherine would have to make our very quickly; Jounouchi then had Rocket Warrior turn into its' Invincible Mode and then the blonde commanded Rocket Warrior to attack Magnet Warrior Beta, causing me to furrow my eyebrows in confusion at this action.

"Maybe Jounouchi's shaken Marik's control?" I suggested. No one had asked but it was an answer to my own confusion, the other spectators looked at me but in that moment Yugi activated his face down Trap, Magic Arm Shield which allowed Beta to use the shield depicted on the artwork to seize a hold of Rocket Warrior and forced it to turn its' attack upon Panther Soldier instead causing Rocket Warrior's effect to activate.

**Jet-Black Panther Solider – Panther Warrior – ATK/2000 – ATK/1500**

"Because of the Continuous Magic, War of Attrition, Panther Soldier loses attack points equal to Rocket Warrior's attack," Yugi stated. That meant that Panther Soldier would be completely defenceless until the turn was over but even after the turn was over its' attack points would be far too low to destroy either of Yugi's monsters and Rocket Warrior didn't have the power to destroy Yugi's Life Points in one move.

**Jet-Black Panther Soldier – Panther Warrior – ATK/1500 – ATK/0**

Mine and Katherine's Duel Spirits sent us a message that the trio of Honda, Shizuka and Otogi were currently travelling on foot but Shizuka knew that Jounouchi had been captured which annoyed me since I'd told Honda not to tell her in order to avoid worrying the girl but I guessed she'd have overhear him telling Otogi; Yugi announced it was his turn thus the effect of Rocket Warrior had ended.

**Jet-Black Panther Soldier – Panther Warrior – ATK/0 – ATK/500**

"Card draw! I sacrifice Magnet Warrior Beta to Advance Summon Dark Demon Tribe – Gilfer Daemon!" Yugi announced. The aforementioned demonic beast was summoned to the field and fortunately this one was strong enough to destroy Rocket Warrior which meant Yugi would at least last a little longer in the duel despite the slowly trickling away of time on that bomb.

**Dark Demon Tribe - Gilfer Daemon – Attribute: Dark, Type: Demon, Level: 6, ATK/2200, DEF/2500**

"Attack Rocket Warrior! Gilfer Flame!" Yugi commanded. The fiend gathered flames into an orb near its' chest and then sent the fire surging forward to Rocket Warrior. "Rocket Warrior explode!" Yugi cried out. And the cry was fulfilled when Rocket Warrior was destroyed by the blazing flames thus finally dealing more damage to the possessed blonde and Jounouchi's Life Points dropped below two thousand and Yugi called out to the blonde.

**Jounouchi – LP: 2400 – LP: 1700**

"Not yet Yugi! You can't reduce my Life to zero with such a weak attack!" Jounouchi responded. That attack hadn't been enough to snap our friend back to his senses and it did seem like the use of Red-Eyes would be the only way to drag Jounouchi's heart out from Marik's insidious hold but the poor dragon was too weak thanks to the Rocket Warrior-War of Attrition combo that had afflicted it.

Things were tense as we waited for Yugi to continue with his turn or end it so that Jounouchi could take over but that would only cause more tension for me no matter what move he made, there had to be some way of empowering Red-Eyes so that it could attack which might snap Jounouchi back to us but I couldn't quite think of how to achieve such a method and with only ten minutes left, this could be described at the crunch time.

Unfortunately as they say misery likes company as our Duel Spirits took that moment to inform us that the Ghouls had found our friends although Honda had chosen to sacrifice himself so that Otogi could get Shizuka out of danger and of all people the two of them had run straight into Mai, or rather Mai had almost driven over the duo.

"Jounouchi, thanks. You might have just saved Shizuka by saving Mai," I admitted. Fortunately I had said those words quietly so that the two duelists and by extension the nutcase controlling the blonde one couldn't hear although I did get confused looks from Seto and Mokuba but now wasn't the time for a history lesson.

An update came from our Spirit Partners that Honda had managed to overpower the Ghouls chasing them but that unfortunately meant that he had got our location from the grunts and having met up with Mai and the others they were on their way, knowing how strong willed and stubborn Mai was there probably wasn't anything short of the Apocalypse that would stop her from getting here so me and Katherine agreed to have our Duel Spirits watch over them in case the Ghouls tried any more dirty tricks.

"It's my turn!" Jounouchi announced. He drew a card and then looked at it, with how he'd been shaking Marik's control these last few turns I was unsure if it was another power struggle or if that monster had somehow managed to sink his claws deeper into our friend thus undoing all of Yugi's hard work, although the chance that Marik hadn't thought up a move yet was also a possibility thus Jounouchi who was still partially controlled wasn't making a move either with it or against his decision.

With so little time left there was a dangerous chance that Marik might just try to sink both of them but I couldn't be too sure what the crazy person could be up to and attempting to find out would lead to Anzu's erasure from this world since that accursed Ghoul was keeping a close eye on us ever since Katherine had run forward earlier.

"They're going to come here and if Shizuka is anything like how Jounouchi described her then she's quite liable to remove her bandages just to see her brother after all this time," Katherine spoke up. I looked down at my sister and saw that she was frowning deeply, being a younger sibling only Katherine had Mokuba had any idea of how Shizuka must have been feeling even if they were never in such a situation before.

"You're right about them coming here and if Shizuka does try to remove her bandages then we've got to stop her," I responded. Katherine nodded her head in agreement with my words obviously knowing that my words were right due to the repercussions that could occur if Shizuka did see Jounouchi in his current condition however Seto let out a scoff causing me to look at the brunette confused by his action.

"Why stop her? If that nobody's sister what's to see why stop it?" Seto asked. I almost wanted to snap at him for such dismissal but his eyes stopped me from speaking, Seto's face was always a blank canvas but his eyes were always so expressive and right now they were telling me that he couldn't understand what we were talking about, of course he didn't since he didn't **know** the relationship between Jounouchi and Shizuka so I calmed down instantly and smiled slightly before looking at the paused duel before me.

"Seto, Shizuka looks up to and loves Jounouchi just like how Mokuba looks up to and loves you. Now imagine Mokuba's horror and heart ache if after **months** of not seeing you, perhaps not **even** talking to you, his first sight is of a sick, twisted **and** corrupted version of his beloved brother," I suggested. Seto remained quiet but I could see the mental gears turning is his mind although Mokuba was much quicker as his face paled in terror and soon Seto's own eyes widened as the realisation hit him as well. "Now do you get it?" I asked. In response Seto nodded his head realising just how destroyed he and Mokuba would be if this situation occurred to them.

Throughout our discussion Jounouchi had remained still causing me to wonder what the boy and the psycho manipulating him could be up to, there were three cards in his hand and I knew one of them had to be the Hand Obliteration that he took from Yugi due to Exchange but I could only guess what the other two cards were but that was based on Jounouchi's normal deck and I didn't know what Illegal cards Marik might have stuffed into the blonde's deck.

"Jounouchi-kun, do you remember what happened in Duelist Kingdom. Back then, you fought really hard for your sister Shizuka-chan, fought as a duelist and you won the prize!" Yugi spoke up. Jounouchi slowly spoke his sister's name clearly recalling a memory or memories with the most precious person to him in the world. "And… then you promised me in Battle City…," Yugi carried on. However it seemed that his words didn't have any effect on Jounouchi as he simply set two cards face down and switched Panther Warrior into attack.

The bomb's timer was nearing the five minutes mark and with Yugi's turn he had to try and end this duel, in any way, if we wanted any chance of saving our friends from this deadly situation; after Jounouchi goaded Yugi, the boy set a face down and then commanded Gilfer Daemon to attack Panther Soldier but Jounouchi revealed he had had been waiting for the boy to declare and attack on his weakened monster.

"I know that! Gilfer Flame!" Yugi retorted. The attack came together and was sent forward but Jounouchi activated both of his faces downs revealing that one was the Trap card Demon's Dice and the other was its' counterpart Angel's Dice that was a Magic card; the cards artworks were projected onto the field as I bit my bottom lip at the combo that Jounouchi had thrown out.

"Angel's Dice strengthens my Panther Soldier's attack power, multiplied by the number rolled! And Demon's Dice **weakens** your Gilfer Daemon! Your monster is as good as eliminated!" Jounouchi explained. However Yugi wasn't about to let this combo follow through as he activated his own face down, which was the Magic card, Magic Removal, in order to destroy Angel's Dice ensuring that only half the combo could work; now all that needed to happen was for the dice to roll a low enough number.

The little demon holding that red dice proceeded to release it and the cube bounced across the sky as if hitting some invisible floor until it eventually decided to stop and the number that came up was a two; a sigh of relief escaped me as this meant that Gilfer Daemon would only have its' attack halved thus ensuring that Panther Soldier was destroyed and thus Jounouchi's Life Points were dropped to be nearly equal with Yugi's.

**Dark Demon Tribe – Gilfer Daemon – ATK/2200 – ATK/1100**

**Jounouchi – LP: 1700 – LP: 1100**

Fortunately the effect of Demon's Dice could only last for the turn that it was used on thus with nothing to do Yugi proceeded to end his turn and thus the effect faded and returned Gilfer Daemon's attack to its' normal stat; Yugi's move had brought this duel closer to an end but there was no way of knowing how it would progress when Jounouchi made his next move under Marik's manipulations.

**Dark Demon Tribe – Gilfer Daemon – ATK/1100 – ATK/2200**

Suddenly the roar of a car's engine came from our left so we all looked in that direction and my eyes widened as I easily identified Mai as the driver and Otogi behind the brunette female passenger who had to be Shizuka due to her physical similarities and the bandages around her eyes, that meant Honda had to be behind Mai and it was easy to tell their destination, an 'oh no' slipped from Katherine so I bolted forward coming to a stop before the car's path and spread my arms out.

"STOP MAI!" I bellowed. Fortunately the blonde did stop before she hit me, although she gave me a look that pretty much screamed she considered me a crazy person for performing such a stunt. "Don't get any closer! Any of you!" I continued on. They all climb out of the car and approached me with Mai gently helping the brunette, who was definitely Shizuka, and they approached me but complied and stopped before me. "If any of us try and stop the duel then **that** **is it** for Anzu. The freak show in the crane will drop that container above her with no hesitation!" I explained.

I notice that Shizuka had long auburn hair with a long fringe that framing the sides of her face and a cowlick of four small hairs that covered the middle part of her forehead and of course the bandages stopped me from seeing her eye colour but I knew from the pictures I'd seen that it was a green-brown shade, she wore a sleeveless pink and white shirt with a high collar over a short-sleeved yellow shirt along with light blue denim shorts and long white socks with blue sneakers.

"Are you serious Kylie?!" Honda exclaimed. Mokuba quickly back me up and repeated why Anzu had been taken as a hostage as we all came to gather were Seto and Katherine had remained. "Why the hell are Yugi and Jounouchi dueling in the first place? And what's up with that huge anchor they're attached to?" Honda asked. Seto was the one who answered by stating it was a Death Duel and Mokuba explained what Yugi had been doing during the duel.

"Big brother!" A soft and delicate female voice came. It had to be Shizuka's since I'd never heard it before so I looked at the brunette in time to see her reaching up to untie the bandages so I immediately lunged forward and seized both of her wrists in a tight grip and thrusted them downwards to stop her actions although this did cause her to squeak in pain. "W-who are y-you?" Shizuka shakily asked.

"Don't take off your bandages Shizuka!" I practically yelled. Shizuka's face slackened as I loosened my rather rough grip moving instead to gently grip her upper arms similar to how I treated Katherine. "My name is Kylie Hope and I'm a friend a Jounouchi's. Right now, please, for your sake and your brother's sake don't take off your bandages," I pleaded. Shizuka's muscles relaxed and so I let my hands slide down and went to move away but a hand grabbed one of mine and I saw it was Shizuka.

"Big brother…," Shizuka spoke. She seemed ready to cry and so Mai wrapped an arm around the brunette's shoulders and told the younger girl to have faith in Jounouchi; we turned our attention back to the duel with the anchor's bomb having gone passed four minutes, there had to be something we could do before this duel ended in the worst possible way.

Jounouchi proceeded to begin his turn by drawing a card and for some reason a chill shot through my spine causing many dark scenarios to shoot through my mind about what that chill could possibly mean for the result of this duel.


	22. Chapter 22

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback, or something in another language.**

**Thank you to Guest for your review and yes, Seto and Mokuba have known the Hope sisters since they were children, it was shortly after the monster known as Gozubura adopted the brothers that they met. I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 22: - The Destined Last Turn

Time seemed to stand still as we waited for Jounouchi to make his move given that this was most likely the last turn of this duel and that meant that me and Kylie had to be ready to spring into action at the slightest movementif we wanted to save the boys and Anzu before they died, acting before that moment was too dangerous since the Ghoul in the crane was watching us quite closely to make sure we didn't try and stop the duel; Honda let a curse slice through the silence surrounding us.

"Is there nothing we can do?" Otogi asked. Sad to say but there really wasn't anything we could do, all of us had basically walked right into the trap not knowing what cards Marik held and knowing we didn't have a damn thing that could help us in this scenario, even with mine and Kylie's magic the threat on Anzu's life was enough to make our magics stay contained until the opportune moment arrived, we had been gathering magic the entire duel just waiting for it to come.

"Not without dropping that container on Anzu," Kylie stated. Mokuba stated the obvious to his brother, that we were almost out of time, then Anzu called over for someone to stop them and for us to forget about her yet Seto's expression twisted into a grimace at that thought so Kylie grabbed him and whispered in Seto's ear who looked at my sister but nodded in agreement to her suggestion, he then pressed the communicator on his collar and spoke into it.

Throughout all of this Jounouchi hadn't made a single move and I was beginning to worry about what card he could have possibly drawn to make him stop moving, perhaps the blonde boy and the psycho controlling him could have possibly been in a tug of over his mind and the inability to know what was going on inside of Jounouchi's head was really annoying, especially since any tampering with it could destroy Jounouchi's mind permanently.

I glanced at the thread that represented the connection between Jounouchi and the Millennium Rod which was leading away from the duel arena but the thickness of the cord displayed that Marik was much closer than the last few times he'd controlled someone which meant that he could be found if I moved fast enough once the others were safe but saving my friends came first.

Suddenly Jounouchi let out a grunt of pain as he raised a hand to his head causing everyone to focus on him as the blonde boy began to speak, Jounouchi seemed to be recalling his memories as a duelist which could possibly be the key to bringing Jounouchi back from the mind control since everything else that had been tried seemed to have failed, if not then I'd have to risk facing Marik to cut the cord off at the source.

"My… memories…," Jounouchi spoke. However something seemed to pulse along the cord causing the blonde's eyes to shrink down and then Jounouchi threw his head back and let out a scream as he fell to his knees whilst gripping his head with both of his hands, the hands dropped and his body began to violently shake. "SHUT UP ! I DON'T WANT TO HAVE THAT IN MY MEMORIES!" Jounouchi screamed. It had been so unexpected that I jumped and hugged Kylie's leg due to the shock.

"Jounouchi-kun!" Yugi called. However Jounouchi's hands returned to gripping his head causing me to apply pressure to my bottom lip as a pit opened in my stomach at seeing what Jounouchi had to be enduring because of the monster that was messing with our lives and treating us as if we were nothing but pawns to him, I glanced at the time left on the anchor and felt the pit widen as I realised there was less than two minutes left

'Damnit, this waiting around is damn near killing me. I wish I was strong enough to stop Marik's ambitions, here and now.' I thought. Feeling as if there was nothing I could do to help my friends because of how weak I was left a sour taste in my mouth at my lack of capabilities, Yugi then called out to Marik knowing he had to be watching the duel from somewhere and proclaimed that the only loser of this duel was Marik because Jounouchi had beaten him by not falling to his machinations.

However the bomb reached its' last minute, but Yugi declared that he was going to get Jounouchi's heart back which in Yugi's mind meant that even if both lost and were dragged into the sea then Marik would have lost the duel and that meant the psycho would remember it forever; Seto wondered what the boy could possibly be up to by saying those words although I think that Yugi was attempting to shake Marik's control over Jounouchi.

"Let's make a wager Marik! Will I get Jounouchi-kun's heart back first! Or will you take my Life Points to zero?! We've got no time left! So try **attacking** me, Marik!" Yugi challenged. My heart twisted tightly at the daring words that Yugi had thrown out at the psychopath that **really** wanted him and Yami dead, my hands had released Kylie's leg and were now twisting tight together, close to my chest.

"Don't…," Jounouchi spoke. I looked over at him and saw that the card which the blonde had recently drawn was glowing with an ominous light and the hand holding it was shaking but soon Jounouchi let out a scream as the familiar Eye of Wedjet appeared on the blonde's forehead, it seemed that Marik had completely taken control of Jounouchi in order to end this duel. "DIE YUGI! DEATH METEOR!"Jounouchi/Marik declared.

My heartbeat stilled as the blood in my veins promptly froze upon hearing the name of that Magic card, by paying five hundred the activator of this card was able to inflict one thousand points of damage onto the opponent and that was all that Yugi had left; as the card was activated the sky above the duel twisted into a swirling purple vortex with an empty black spot in the centre were the aforementioned meteor began to fall, at a crawling pace, out of.

**Jounouchi – LP: 1100 – LP: 600**

"Not good… very not good. Unless Yugi's face down card can save him…_ Katherine be ready to move,_" Kylie spoke, the last part in English. I barely registered the movement of my head in agreement due to the sheer amount of shock that I was currently suffering from, it almost felt like an out of body experience, I was that disconnected to the world before me.

The blazing orange and yellow orb of death shot out of the vortex straight towards Yugi which caused my breath to seize in my throat as I waited for something to happen, whether for the duel to end or for Yugi to pull some kind of reversal, however I felt a surge of strong will power cut through my numbed state and bring me back as I heard Jounouchi calling out for Yugi not to die and the symbol on his forehead was shattered and the cord dissolved to nothing… Jounouchi **was** free.

"Jounouchi-kun!" Yugi called. Relief thick within his tone at the fact that his best friend had managed to break free from the madman's complete control with tears gathering in his amethyst eyes. "Set card, open! Spirit's Mirror!" Yugi revealed. The card opened up to reveal the artwork and it was then projected out allowing the fairy to capture the meteor in its' mirror. "This is a counter Trap for when the opponent uses a Spell card. The Spirit's Mirror allows me to absorb and redirect the attack!" Yugi explained.

"Yugi…" Jounouchi called out. His eyes had returned to their normal expressive state but now Yugi had control of how this duel ended, whether the attack was redirected or – to my heart's serious discontent if the ache I felt was anything to go by – attack himself, a third option was to let the timer run out but that was the worst possible scenario. "Why are we fighting?" Jounouchi asked. He was holding the Millennium Puzzle and his expression was one of deep confusion.

"That's enough Jounouchi-kun. Our fight's over," Yugi admitted. I didn't like the way this conversation was going to go when Jounouchi repeated the last word again. "I believed… that we weren't the ones fighting in this duel. You were fighting Marik within your heart and I was fighting to ensure our friendship stayed intact. Even though I had to fight **myself**! And we both **won**!" Yugi carried on. I think he was only confusing Jounouchi even more than before, however the bomb had reached the last thirty seconds.

At that moment the sound of a chopper reached my ears as the wind began to tangle up my hair, Kylie touched my shoulder as we all turned to look at it beginning to fly over to the Ghoul and Anzu which caused Kylie's hand to tighten and so I immediately activated my magic and teleported myself to beside Anzu causing the brunette to yelp in surprise.

"Don't move!" Kylie ordered. Anzu turned still as a statue at my sister's words whilst the Ghoul whipped over to face us but I already placed a hand around Anzu's arm and Seto covered us by throwing a card straight into the Ghoul's hand holding the detonator forcing him to drop if and safely allowing me to activate my magic then both me and Anzu were teleported back to my previous location.

The Ghoul cursed me and Seto then made an attempt to retrieve the detonator probably to try and kill us by changing the crane's angle but Seto wasn't having any of that as he swung his knee into the Ghoul knocking the puppet to the ground, meanwhile the helicopter that had been called hooked the cable holding the container and swung it away causing the crane to fall over and into the sea, an explosion followed shortly after.

"HOW DID YOU DO THAT!?" I heard everyone that was not my sister demand. Shizuka had also had no part and simply looked around blindly at us, very confused by the sudden cry, I didn't answer and instead saw Kylie hand Seto his card back, his face was sour meaning it had probably been Blue-Eyes or Obelisk that he used to help us out, whoever it was I was really grateful to that card.

"Now isn't the time, Yugi and Jounocuhi need us," I insisted. The others seemed to swallow their words at what I said but I was right as we turned our attention back to the duel that was going on before us, neither duelist had made a move although I saw the relief in Yugi's eyes when he spotted that Anzu was free whilst Jounouchi was made even more confused by the occurrence.

"I played Spirit's Mirror so I can buy a little time. So I could say everything I wanted to say at the end… Jounouchi-kun, you taught me I wasn't alone. And you taught me courage… you're my best friend. Jounouchi-kun… I love you," Yugi admitted. Tears had gathered in both boy's eyes as the blonde boy had called out to the one speaking several times whilst Yugi spoke, speaking of which, Yugi had used the lesser Japanese phrase for love when he said that. "Spirit! Aim the Death Meteor attack at me!" Yugi demanded.

"YUGI! NO!" I screamed. However the Spirit complied as it spun around to face Yugi and the blazing ball was sent flying towards the boy causing the rest of us – except Seto and Shizuka – to cry out the boy's name whilst I felt tears slip down my face as the attack hit him causing a massive explosion and the area around Yugi was swallowed in light, eventually the light faded and Yugi slumped to his knees.

**Yugi – LP: 1000 – LP: 0**

As a result of Yugi's Life Points dropping, Jounouchi's box pinged open revealing his key and the bomb – which had reached the last damn second – beeped for a few moments before the timer reset itself to the thirty second time limit before the anchor dropped, Kylie didn't waste a second as she started moving again towards Yugi.

"Use the key! It'll unlock the shackle around your ankle!" Kylie yelled at Jounouchi. That startled me into action as I ran over to join my sister as we both knelt by Yugi's side, he was seriously exhausted but not to the point of unconsciousness as he managed to give Jounouchi information on the situation and how to escape it.

Me and Kylie found that the shackle couldn't be pried or cut off with magic, neither could its' chain, and when Kylie went to use her magic to create a key she yelped and practically jumped away as she violently shook her arm implying there was some kind booby trap in the keyhole and she'd probably just pulled away in time.

I moved over to the box holding Yugi's key and delicately scanned it, finding that there was magical booby traps and enchantments over it, meaning that everything else securing Yugi probably had those same protections and it would take **too gods damned long** for either me or Kylie to undo the bindings so I looped my arm around Yugi's chest, ready to teleport away as soon as possible since I had to gathered my magic once more.

"You **idiot**! I can't leave you behind and run away!" Jounouchi protested. However Yugi didn't listen as he removed his Duel Disk from his arm so that it wouldn't be dragged in with him. "What can I do? What the **hell **can I do?!" Jounouchi cried. However right after those words were said the blonde boy fell quiet but I didn't have time to focus on that as I continued gathering magic at a fast pace. "Red-Eyes! Attack me! Shoot a Black Flare Bullet and reduce my Life Points to zero!" Jounounchi commanded. That got a loud what from my sister as my eyes widened in understanding at what the blonde was attempting to do.

Red-Eyes complied and shot Jounouchi thus dropping the boy's Life Points to zero after that attack hit Jounouchi the holograms of the activated card proceeded to disappear as Red-Eyes let out once last roar; in compliance with the rules that Marik set out Yugi's box proceeded to pop open revealing the key that was necessary for us to set Yugi free from this accursed shackle.

**Jounouchi – LP: 600 – LP: 0**

I reached my hand forward only to scream as a violent shock ran up my arm, there had been a layer of enchantment inside the box to stop any magic user from getting the key, damn psycho sure took precautions against me and Kylie since I couldn't summon the key out either; I had ended up saying all of that information aloud from the shocked expression on Kylie and Jounouchi's faces.

"Yugi! I won't let you die!" Jounouchi declared. I saw the boy put down the Puzzle and his own Disk before grabbing the chain and so Kylie asked about his own key. "I don't have time to grab my own key!" Jounouchi stated. The crazy boy had grabbed a hold of the chain and proceeded to jump across the gaping middle using the chain as a grapple point to ensure he didn't fall into the sea mid-jump.

As Jounouchi neared I glanced at the bomb only to fine there were three seconds left; two seconds, Jounouchi reached out his hand desperately trying to close the distance between him and the box; one second, I kept gathering my own magic and reached my hand forward in order to grab Jounouchi so that I could teleport him safely to land; the bomb exploded and the anchor plummeted into the sea.

Reacting faster, Kylie lunged forward and grabbed the chain before surrounding herself in purple light and slamming both feet into the wooden decking as she pulled back but even Kylie with magical enhancements couldn't hold back a three kilogram weight for long, Jounouchi managed to grab Yugi's key just as all three were pulled off the wood and into the water.

"Someone grab the key in Jounouchi's box!" I cried. My mind was a whirl as I threw off my cardigan, sucked in a deep breath and dived into the water causing my eyes to flinch shut for a few minutes due to the sting of salt before I adapted and could open them, looking down I saw my sister holding onto the chain desperately kicking her legs to stay afloat as the anchor continued to sink, Jounouchi swam over to a an unconscious Yugi.

I swam down to my sister and added my own feeble strength and magic to the mix allowing us to begin swimming upwards but I could already feel my muscles shrieking in protest; Jounouchi unlocked Yugi so Kylie slapped me and gestured at the boy, her gaze was hard enough for me not to try and argue so I let go and swam over to Yugi, wrapping my arms around him I kicked off back up to the surface.

We emerged gasping for breath but I managed to pull myself and the exhausted boy over to the others, once close enough Honda swiftly grabbed the two of us and hauled us out but when they began to ask about Jounouchi, I realised none of them had grabbed the key that Jounouchi needed to escape so I struggled to my feet and attempted to move over to the other side to grab that damned key, but a sight stopped me and caused my eyes to widen.

That sight was, without a single hint of hesitation or fear in her beautiful green-brown eyes, Jounouchi's little sister Shizuka diving into the sea with a key in her hand; we didn't have to wait long before Kylie, Jounouchi and Shizuka allow broke the surface of the water, with the girls supporting the blonde who gasped for breath, Kylie smacked him on the back a few times before poking his cheek causing Jounouchi to look at her.

"Jounouchi… your sister is almost as amazing than my own," Kylie admitted. Jounouchi smiled weakly at my sister who broke away from them allowing the brother and sister to have their reunion before Yugi called out to his best friend and Jounouchi returned the greeting, the trio all swam to the edge and pulled themselves out. "Ahhh, I guess Marik hightailed whilst we were saving everyone's lives. I would have really like to kick that psycho's ass," Kylie complained. I one hundred percent agreed with her feelings on the matter.

"Yugi, I… I… s-sorry," Jounouchi apologised. Yugi stated that it was fine, however Jounouchi didn't accept this because of what he did to Yugi but the young boy pointed out that the blonde had protected what was most important to them and that was enough to him. "No, it's **not** enough! It's true I have no memory of when it first started, I was completely being controlled by that bastard. But I gradually became aware of what I was doing… I knew full well what I was doing to you and even then… I couldn't stop myself… I can't forgive myself for that. I'm a failure as a duelist!" Jounouchi ranted.

Before anyone else could response, Mai walked up and promptly slapped the blonde across the face causing him to shut up as he cradled the abused cheek whilst looking at the blonde vixen wide-eyed; Mai ordered him to stop being such a baby and was disappointed in how easily he threw away his duelist's pride, she reminded him of why he dueled so hard in the Duelist Kingdom and condemned him for wanting to hide now for something he'd done.

"I don't want Shizuka seeing me like this! I'm a failure of a brother! I'm already long passed gone!" Jounouchi argued. Honda yelled at the blonde to stop feeling sorry and told him that Shizuka had come all this way in order to give **Jounouchi** courage, that snapped Jounouchi back to reality as he looked at his sister. "That's right Shizuka… your eyes!" Jounouchi realised. Shizuka must have removed her bandages at some point before diving in and the girl cheerfully admitted that Jounouchi had given her enough courage.

"The first thing I saw… was you putting your life on the line to save Yugi-san!" Shizuka revealed. The girl was so happy that she had been reunited with her brother because of the support his friends and given her and the two siblings proceeded to embrace each other, it was a heart-warming scene and after all the chaos of the last hours, seeing those two reunited against the setting sun was such a relief that I almost slumped down to the ground from relief.

We walked off of the death match set up and returned to the boat we'd arrived at before, Jounouchi returned the Puzzle to Yugi whilst a Hope Industries car departed having given me and Kylie a much needed change of clothing, due the soaking we took thanks to our dives earlier, Seto and Mokuba then began to leave but not before Yugi called out to the older individual.

"Tell the other Yugi… no, Kylie called him Yami, tell Yami this; that you and your friends have given me 'the answer'. I'll be waiting for you at the final stage of the Battle City tournament!" Seto stated. I smiled at seeing Seto accept that Yugi and Yami were completely different individuals, but his final words had served to remind us that the final battle was coming and if Marik was going to take back Osiris and Obelisk then he'd do it at the Battle City Finals.

After a brief discussion about Shizuka watching the finals duels, Mai warning us not to underestimate her Amazoness deck and Jounouchi reconfirming his promise to duel Yugi as true duelists, Kylie lay out the puzzle cards on her deck which caused a holographic image of the final location to be projected from it but the others were confused by the place's appearance since they didn't know where it was.

"That's the area under construction by Kaiba Corporation," Kylie admitted. She removed the Puzzle cards and put them away before she turned to the rest of us. "Seto doesn't joke about dueling so we had best get going before we're late," Kylie suggested. The others nodded so Mai offered us a ride in her car which we all head over to and got in, well technically Mai, Shizuka, Yugi, me and Anzu got in whilst Kylie, Jounouchi, Honda and Otogi sat around the back with me and Kylie making chains to keep us locked onto the car.

"By the way… Kylie-san, Katherine-chan… exactly how did you do what you did earlier?" Mai tentatively asked. It was no surprise that this questioned was asked since I was excepting but it had taken longer than I previously thought it would for one of them to actually pose the question, looking at Kylie who nodded that she agreed to my non-voiced suggestion that we should explain things to everyone.

Yet before we could begin talking I felt the cold ripple of a Shadow/Dark game reaching its' conclusion wash over me and Kylie causing both of us to tense up in response to its' appearance, someone… perhaps Marik or that evil spirit or, even worse, someone we didn't know was up to something involving that dark power.


	23. Chapter 23

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback, or something in another language.**

**By the way I skipped the episode that involved that Magnum person because… frankly it was boring. I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 23: - First Duel in The Sky

"Wait! Just hold a second! Let me get this straight! You and Katherine are from two long lineages of magic users, Katherine has an object called the Millennium Gauntlet which is part of an eight piece set of Ancient Egyptian magical items that Yugi's Puzzle is also a part of and the Puzzle happens to have a spirit inside of it, they can swap bodies and he's been given the name Yami cause he's got no memories and he also happens to be an Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh," Honda summarised. I had told them all this after getting permission from Yugi and Yami to do so, all them appeared to be having a melt down from the information.

"Pretty much, yeah," I answered. Mai eventually brought the car to a stop and we hopped out or off of the vehicle since we'd have to walk to the finals from here, we walked in silence for a few moments allowing everyone to adjust to the new knowledge, only Yugi was unaffected due to both his experience with his own Millennium Item and his previous knowledge of me and Katherine having magic from when my little sister had saved his soul back in Duelist Kingdom and me entering his Soul Room.

"Honestly if I hadn't seen what you girls did back there, I wouldn't believe it. Speaking of which... why were Yugi-kun and Jounouchi-kun dueling in the first place?" Mai asked. Me, Katherine and Yugi all exchanged looks; I suspected that Katherine and Yugi were communicating via their Soul Bond which would allow Yami to put in his own opinion on the matter, Katherine relayed everything to me and I agreed with us that telling our friends was the best move that could be made, so that they'd be prepared when facing Marik.

"There's this guy called Marik who's running around attempting to gather the Three God Cards and kill Yami in order to claim the title of Pharaoh as revenge. He possesses the Millennium Rod which allows him to control the minds of others. He used this to superimpose the feelings of hatred he has towards the Pharaoh over Jounouchi-kun's real memories; luckily me, Red-Eyes and Jounouchi-kun's own fighting spirit broke through the mind control," Yugi explained. As the aforementioned mentioned blonde boy already knew he was affected he wasn't surprised, but the expressions of the others all twisted into shock, as I looked at them but then a terrified feeling pulsed into me and I snapped my head down to Katherine seeing that her body was beginning to shake.

"H-he'll b-be there won't he?" Katherine asked. There was no doubt in my mind that Marik would be present at the finals, all his goals were now converging on that point, that fact brought a wave of terror upon my form and it would definitely be even worse for Katherine as her mind from probably flooding with dark and twisted scenarios of our friends facing that bastard, a hand raised to her chest as her breath began to come in short, raspy gasps.

I made a move to reach out and comfort my sister but I had to pull up short because someone had beaten me two it; that person had slid a hand to grip with Katherine's own and it had the effect of startling Katherine enough to wretch her mind back to the rest of us and she looked down at the hand before following the arm up to look at the person responsible for saving her.

"Yes he'll be there but so will all our friends, so long as we can support each other then we can stop him. I'm sure of it so don't worry Katherine," Yugi comforted. My sister blinked her dark eyes in surprise before smiling gently at the boy, I supressed a chuckle at this as the two of them proceeded to drop their hands, although I did notice that was done rather reluctantly from **both** parties.

We continued our walk and soon arrived at the stadium as the lights placed above the stans suddenly flared on causing us to flinch back and close our eyes at the sudden penetrating brightness, once recovered we pressed onwards and into the stadium were we found Seto, Mokuba, two bodyguards and the helicopter that had flown over us; Otogi pointed out that the stadium was still under construction which caused me to raise an eyebrow as I looked around slightly.

'I don't think the finals are held here.' I decided. Seto would **never** attend **or** participate in any duels that were held in such shabby conditions, arriving before the gathered four we were greeted by the bodyguards who handed me, Katherine, Yugi, Jounouchi and Mai cards to signify that we'd been recognised as finalists in the tournament causing Mai to make a smart remark whilst Jounouchi asked where the other finalists were.

"Currently, only Seto-sama and the five of you have arrived," Isono answered. Silence fell upon us as we waited for the other finalists to finally show themselves; suddenly a chilling wind blew from the left causing all of us to look in its' direction, the individual stepped into the stadiums light allowing me to see a boy with tanned skin, layered sandy blonde hair that seemed almost white and purple eyes, he wore a sleeveless light purple hoodie with two gold chains on the front that exposed a part of his torso, black pants and black shoes with golden diamond shaped earrings and a gold choker.

"He's… Namu?" Jounouchi spoke up. I looked at the darker blonde in confusion at his words, then he and Anzu rushed forward to greet the new arrival. "If it isn't Namu?! Are you alright?" Jounouchi asked. Anzu tacked on that they were worried about him with this Namu admitting he was glad they were okay as well but Anzu wondered if he was okay after what had happened before which only served to confuse me even more.

"I guess they didn't bother with **me** since I don't have any rare cards," Namu admitted. Shortly after that Namu cast a dark look at Anzu then a flare of magical energy went up causing my hackles to rise and I glanced at Katherine who was already looking at me so I inclined my head only slightly to agree that I had sensed the magic as Yugi walked over to the trio causing my muscles to coil as I turned my gaze back to 'Namu'.

"Yugi, let me introduce you. This is Namu, he tried to save us when we were being attacked by the Ghouls. Right, Jounouchi?" Anzu introduced. The blonde in question let out a hesitant yet positive response causing me to lightly quirk an eyebrow as I strung a series of thoughts together in my mind; Marik had hijacked Jounouchi and Anzu's mind but had dropped control of the girl's before he had to fight for it unlike Jounouchi, therefore Anzu wouldn't be as sensitive to the mind control as Jounouchi was and she was easier to manipulate than the one that had fought back and regained control from him before.

Yugi's back suddenly tensed up, perhaps indicating that Katherine had supplied him with a warning as to our current theories about this mysterious individual, but from what I could see of 'Namu's' face that was the only indication of his reaction to my words as the tanned boy greeted Yugi kindly which Yugi easily returned and commented that he must be strong to have reached the finals.

"Well, with so many tough looking people here, I think I just lost my self-esteem," 'Namu' admitted. Footsteps then sounded behind us although they were somewhat weak and unsteady, turning around all of us spotted Bakura walking towards us but there was a bandage around his upper left arm that looked to be stained with blood and to top it off Jounouchi was shocked to see him here.

All of us who were his friends ran over to him as Jounouchi asked why the white-haired boy was there with Anzu moving on to ask if his wound was ok with Yugi admitting that Suguroku had told him the boy had been in critical condition; that begged the question as to why he was suddenly here instead of resting at the hospital, especially since his wound was still bleeding from the look of it.

Bakura's response whilst positive was slightly hesitant and Honda wanted to take him back until Bakura revealed that he had somehow become a finalist and even showed off his locator cards as evidence – naturally we were all shocked – a sudden dark surge came up causing Yugi to look at me and Kylie as we exchanged glances with each other and him; the same dangerous thought was coursing through all our heads, the Dark Spirit was back.

"Look, it's the seventh duelist," Bakura stated. We turned around to look in the direction Bakura had motioned and I saw an individual who immediately caused my eyes to widen as the individual wore the same purple hooded cape that the other Ghouls had worn although this one had a gold chain near the neck, underneath the cape was a long-sleeve dark purple sweatshirt, black pants, two rather large dark belts and boots.

When he got closer I saw that he had tanned skin with the left side of his face – stretching from probably the ear area to halfway passed his left eye in width but the full length of his face – was a carving of hieroglyphics, he also had gold eyes and any hair was hidden from view thanks to the cape's hood; naturally everyone assumed this individual was Marik, so perhaps he'd been waiting for a bit before entering and Namu was in fact one of his Ghoul puppets so he manipulated Anzu's memories to protect him.

"Are you Marik?" Seto demanded. The man claimed he was and this caused Jounouchi to declare he would never let Marik off the hook and when Marik greeted him, Jounouchi stated his desire to beat the hell out of the Tomb Keeper right now but also wanted to settle it fair and square in a duel. "Marik, as the organiser of this tournament I'm free to disqualify you… but rather than do that now, I'll beat you to a bloody pulp and take your God Card away from you!" Seto declared. Mokuba added on that Seto would get revenge for everyone.

"Probably best not to get in the way of a megalomaniac's quest for unjustified vengeance until you've got no other options," I stated. My eyes were colder than ice, in fact equating them to the Ninth Circle Cocytus probably wasn't close enough, surprisingly Marik was unphased by all this and walked away from the rest of us.

"Will the nine duelist please give me your attention. I have an announcement to make. All of you have won in the prelims and assembled here at the final location, Domino Stadium. However this will **not** be the locations of the finals," Isono called. Everyone else was confused whilst me and Katherine chimed in with an in-synch 'knew it' causing everyone to look at us as I folded my arms behind my head.

"Seto would… probably only hand over thirty percent of Kaiba Corporation before participating in such an unsightly place for a duel. Unless Mokuba got threatened or a Blue-Eyes got stolen that is," I stated. Shortly after saying that, think I heard Seto muttering his refusal to ever do such a thing as hand over any part of his company but agreeing all the same with my assessment; the other bodyguard stated the stage should appear before us momentarily, the lights suddenly rose up and a roaring sound came from the sky so we all looked upwards. "Well… I didn't see that coming," I admitted.

Above us was an airship that clearly belonged to Seto from the company logo on it and everyone except for me, Katherine, Marik and Namu were amazed by its' presence and that it would be the place for the finals; the airship began to lower down as its' landing apparatus extended out, as Mokuba stated it was known as the Battle Ship and we would be flying at one thousand meters in the air… that was certainly a new type of a stage even for the tournament veterans of me, Katherine and Seto.

Once landed the airship opened a ran for us to get in and we would be leaving as soon as the missing duelists arrived or at 7:00, Mai was excited to duel in the sky along with Yugi and Jounouchi, to be honest even I felt a buzz of excitement pumping through me at this different type of stage, the only downside was Marik's presence; our friends were nearly stopped from boarding since they didn't have I.D. cards until Mokuba stated he didn't have one yet would still be onboard so to let them go, he was a sweetheart.

Katherine giggled slightly before moving into the airship and it was shortly allowed to take off meaning the missing three duelists had arrived, we all gazed out the viewing platform as the aircraft flew over Domino City; Shizuka congratulated her brother who boasted but this triggered an argument between Jounouchi and Seto after Seto called him a deadbeat but stated it meant average in his mind… it was still an improvement over nobody.

After insulting Jounouchi a little more, Seto moved over to Yugi and warned the boy he had better put Osiris into his deck because he left it out of it in the last few duels since Seto wouldn't accept its' absence during their duel as the winner would have all three God Cards at the end of it and of course Seto believed that it would be him; he then walked off and it was announced that some rooms had been prepared for us so we went our separate ways in order to rest a bit before the finals commenced in one hour at which point the match-ups would be decided.

Lying down on the bed I thought about what could potentially happen during this duel, clearly Marik and Namu were our enemies however that did leave me questioning the three unknown duelists' alliance in this crazy event; were they Ghouls and thus enemies or were they on the same side as Yami thus marking them as allies, or were they perhaps more like Mai and Jounouchi bystanders that got dragged into this mess by happenstance, these thoughts jumbled through my head were eventually broken by a call for everyone to assemble.

Arriving at the Central Assembly Hall everyone milled around socialising whilst eating some food except for Marik who was leaning against the wall alongside the unknown three duelists who were **still **missing, I did have to wonder who they were but eventually Seto got tired of waiting so he revealed that each of us had been assigned a number and those numbers were printed on balls that would be random shot out of a Blue-Eyes Ultimate shaped Bingo machine to decide the match ups for these duels; the next duel would only be decided after the current match was concluded meaning our opponent was a mystery until right before the duel.

The numbers weren't revealed to us so we had to wait as the machine was started causing the balls to be sent randomly bouncing around the container until the centre head of the Blue-Eyes proceeded to swallow a ball which was spat out revealing Number Six which turned out to be Bakura, naturally all of us were concerned about the boy's condition despite his reassurances; the machine started again and this time the number was three which turned out to be Yami.

Everyone was talking about the duel but I felt a chilling sensation spread across my body at the fact that Yami would possibly have to face that psychotic spirit again, it would end up as a Shadow Game again without a doubt and I didn't want my spirit to be ripped out and stuffed into Virgo's card again; Isono then informed us that the duel would take place in the Aerial Duel Arena but to reach it we had to take separate routes to the participating duelists.

"Please be careful," I whispered to Yami. He nodded in understanding as he and Bakura entered the elevator whilst the bodyguard guided us through a different passage, upon our arrival we discovered that the Arena was at the top of the airship on the outside and that the actual dueling platform was raised above the spectating area slightly. "Well that could make things difficult," I commented. Everyone's eyes turned to pierce my form, no doubt confused by the words I'd spoken.

"Due to the high altitude we're currently at the air will be thinner and with thinner air comes less oxygen as well. Coupled with the chill present at this altitude, these conditions will make the duels even tougher," Katherine explained. Seto added on it would be a test of endurance and Honda found this fact to be exciting with Otogi agreeing with that sentiment; however Yami had a hard expression on his face.

"How about you reveal your true identity? You're not Bakura," Yami demanded. In response to those words, Bakura let out a dark chuckle as parts of his white hair proceeded to stand up in spikes with an ominous aura radiating from him. "You're the dark personality residing within the Millennium Ring," Yami accused. Upon hearing those words, the aforementioned magical item shone into existence around the boy's neck. "I knew it…," Yami stated. I bit the edge of my lip upon having our suspicions confirmed.

Naturally the rest of our friends were shocked and worried upon seeing the Millennium Ring, especially Honda since he was so sure that he'd managed to throw the object away back in Duelist Kingdom but just like I'd suspected the Ring had managed to claw its' way back to Bakura; there was definitely something wrong with that particular Millennium Item, it just gave off such a vibe of… wrong-ness that it made my stomach churn.

Namu was obviously confused so Jounouchi filled him in on the details but naturally the boy couldn't believe it, Dark Bakura brought up the fact that he and Yami hadn't dueled since that time back in Duelist Kingdom; Yami demanded to know what the spirit was up to by taking control of Bakura's body this time even wondering if it was the Millennium Puzzle but the psycho didn't respond for a moment then revealed that he wanted Osiris, I didn't buy it and neither did Yami from the look on his face, with that the duel began.

**Dark Bakura – LP: 4000**

**Yugi – LP: 4000**

After some encouragement from the non-duelists in our group except for Shizuka and the two duelists bantering, Dark Bakura started the duel by going first and he swiftly proceeded to summon out a monster known as The One Lurking In The Painting in attack mode; this caused Katherine to latch onto my leg in a near death grip due to her fear of Zombies and Ghosts.

**The One Lurking In The Painting – Attribute: Earth, Type: Demon, Level: 4, ATK/1200, DEF/1500**

Surprisingly the spirit ended his turn without playing a face down card which caused my lips to curl into a frown as I tried to figure out what the evil being could possibly be up to since I don't think that monster had any special abilities; but that didn't mean it wasn't a sacrifice for another monster somewhere in the psycho's deck, Yami retaliated by bringing out Gazelle in attack mode.

**Phantom Beast King Gazelle – Attribute: Earth, Type: Beast, Level: 4, ATK/1500, DEF/1200**

"Attack The One Lurking In The Painting!" Yami commanded. The beast king charged over and proceeded to cut the painting to shreds thus removing the spirit's line of defence and dealing damage as well, Dark Bakura's face had an annoyed expression twisting across it at this event. "I'll also set a face down! Turn over!" Yami finalised.

**Dark Bakura – LP: 4000 – LP: 3700**

"My turn! Draw!" Dark Bakura announced. He quickly played another monster card onto the field. "Nightmare Ghost in attack mode!" Dark Bakura revealed. However this move only served to confused me as this monster had too weak on an attack to defeat Gazelle yet its' defence was sufficient enough to withstand an attack from the bestial king, so what was the spirit up to especially when he ended his turn with no face downs for a second time.

**Nightmare Ghost – Attribute: Dark, Type: Demon, Level: 4, ATK/1300, DEF/1800**

"Using attack mode again?" Yami questioned. The ancient spirit remained silent for a few moments as he scrutinised his opponent's playing field. "My turn! Draw!" Yami announced. He then drew said card and proceeded to put the card into play revealing it was Magnet Warrior Gamma and he swiftly ordered the newly summoned monster to attack.

**Magnet Warrior γ – Attribute: Earth, Type: Rock, Level: 4, ATK/1500, DEF/1800**

Naturally the weaker monster was destroyed by Gamma which left the evil spirit defenceless and Yami fully exploited that fact by having Gazelle follow up Gamma's attack by striking at Dark Bakura directly thus dealing even more damage to the psycho; something wasn't fitting with everything I knew about this madman from our last encounter and what Honda told us of his encounter with him.

**Dark Bakura – LP: 3700 – LP: 3500**

**Dark Bakura – LP: 3500 – LP: 2000**

Otogi and Honda caught on to the fact that something wasn't right with the way this duel had been going after this attack, Anzu commented that it felt like he didn't know the basics of dueling but that was impossible; the last time he had dueled Yami, the evil spirit had shown that he clearly understood the moves of the game so I was deeply unsettled about what he could be up to.

"My turn! Draw!" Dark Bakura announced. He removed the top card from his deck and looked at it before adding that to his hand and taking out a different card. "Attack mode!" Dark Bakura stated. Suddenly a dark purple fog surrounded the arena floor as clunking footsteps echoed yet there was no source of those sounds but eventually the source appeared. "The Headless Knight!" Dark Bakura revealed. The creature was a headless armoured being that caused Katherine to cling even tighter to me making it like a boa constrictor had attached to my leg.

**Headless Knight – Attribute: Earth, Type: Demon, Level: 4, ATK/1450, DEF/1700**

Something was seriously wrong about this duel and I was trying to figure out what the evil spirit could possibly be up to with his confusing actions, Yami paused briefly at he ran through things in his mind before finally ordering Gamma to attack the monster and then followed that up with a direct attack from Gazelle there by reducing Dark Bakura's Life Points by a significant amount.

**Dark Bakura – LP: 2000 – LP: 1950**

**Dark Bakura – LP: 1950 – LP: 450**

Anzu, Jounouchi and Mai discussed what had been happening with Mai stating that if all went well then our friend would win on the next turn but that caused my eyes to narrow as my muscles tensed up whilst glaring at Dark Bakura as I tried to piece together what the madman could be up; Yami declared that his turn was over and then Dark Bakura began to laugh as the wind flow increased to give form to the parting currents, this only served to add a chilling essence to the scenario

"Yugi! You've fallen right into my trap!" Dark Bakura declared. Yami was confused by this but the ancient spirit wasn't answered as his opponent drew a card from his deck, however the others didn't believe a word that had been said by the psycho. "Hidden in my Occult Deck, lies one of the most **terrifying **cards in existence! But there's a special requirement in order to Special Summon this high level monster," Dark Bakura revealed. My eyes alongside Yami's widened in shock upon hearing that as the evil spirit gripped a card.

"That's right, the conditions to summon this monster are that I must sacrifice three Demon-type monsters from my graveyard to summon it. Now revive, ruler of the world of the dead! Dark Necrofear!" Dark Bakura revealed. He had made those strange moves intentionally to summon this monster without any of us even knowing this fact, from the card came a orb of purple light that streaked around the arena before forming into the monster

**Dark Necrofear – Attribute: Dark, Type: Demon, Level: 8, ATK/2200, DEF/2800**

"I let my guard down, I never thought he's summon a first-class monster using a method like that!" Yami condemned. Honda was freaking out from the monster's presence, although Jounouchi was confused as to why the attack position had been used since Dark Bakura was now rather short on life points; Seto explained it was to lure Yami into attacking and fulfilling the summoning conditions.

"Yugi, I'm going to teach you the true **terror **of my Occult Deck," Dark Bakura taunted. The madman then ended his turn by setting two cards face down causing me to press my teeth together tightly as the evil spirit didn't attack with Dark Necrofear despite the fact that he could have done seven hundred points of damage to Yami by destroying a monster, either the psycho was wary of Yami's face down or there was something I wasn't seeing.

"My turn! Draw!" Yami announced. He drew a card and proceeded to look at it before moving his hand to lay over Gazelle. "I sacrifice Phantom Beast King Gazelle, I Advance Summon Black Magician Girl," Yami declared. The female Magician appeared on the field in her enchanting fashion, naturally Dark Bakura mocked the girl's weaker stats.

**Black Magician Girl – Attribute: Dark, Type: Magician, Level: 6, ATK/2000, DEF/1700**

"We'll see about that, you thought my reverse card was a Trap! This card is really the Incantation Book of Black Magic!" Yami revealed. The card was activated as the ancient spirit announced its' name causing the book depicted on the artwork to be projected and the key holding it closed twisted allowing the book to fall open. "This card raises Black Magician Girl's attack power by five hundred points. She now has three hundred more attack points than Dark Necrofear," Yami explained. As he did Black Magician Girl read her new book.

**Black Magician Girl – ATK/2000 – ATK/2500**

Jounouchi cheered his friend on and so Yami ordered the female magic user to attack Dark Necrofear with Black Burning, the attack caused the fiendish monster to be set on fire alongside the baby that it held and Dark Necrofear let out a scream as the baby began to melt, eventually the monster vanished yet the baby didn't; that caused my muscles to coil tightly as I kept my eyes on the melted form.

**Dark Bakura – LP: 450 – LP: 150**

Eventually Dark Bakura began to laugh causing everyone to focus on him as the evil spirit proceeded to thank Yami for destroying Dark Necrofear which confused everyone and he revealed that with Dark Necrofear in the graveyard, he was allowed to activate the Field Magic known as Dark Sanctuary; immediately a demonic red realm engulfed the arena as a castle stood behind Bakura with mouths containing fanged teeth and eyes dotted the surface of the red cloudbank all the while Dark Bakura laughed manically.

"You just triggered the most **terrifying **switch of my Occult Combo," Dark Bakura declared. Yami was confused by this as the rest of us were currently terrified by the strange new surroundings with Shizuka and Jounouchi holding each other as I huddled Katherine in my arms. "Yugi, I'll let you enjoy Dark Sanctuary to the fullest!" Dark Bakura announced.


	24. Chapter 24

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback, or something in another language.**

**Thank you for the review from Guest and no problem about updating my story. I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 24: - Death-Calling Ouija Board

Quivering in Kylie's arms I looked at the duel, worry churned my stomach as I tried to think about what could be causing such worry; it wasn't my fear that was causing the shaking, instead it was something else… there was something else here in this dark place but I couldn't see it, all I knew of this strange entity was that it was filled with bubbling, roaring hatred.

"I direct attack with Magnet Warrior Gamma!" Yami declared. The chosen monster proceeded to race forward and common sense told me that Yami should have won this, Dark Bakura's Life Points should have plummeted to zero and this duel would be over, yet my instincts were in **direct opposition** to that common sense that it deeply confused me as I gripped my sister even tighter.

Suddenly something, it looked like a ghost, shot out of Gamma and straight toward Yami confusing all of us but I knew that ghost was the hateful entity that I'd been sensing since Dark Sanctuary activated; the ghost flew through Yami as Dark Bakura declared Spirit Burn with Yami trying to figure out what had just happened as the evil spirit laughed.

"You must be really surprised. He's been possessed by the Hateful Spirit of Dark Sanctuary, the Onryou. The Onryou becomes an Equipment Card and attached itself to one of the opponent's monsters," Dark Bakura explained. Yami clarified that this evil ghost was inside of Gamma then the madman revealed that Onryou would attack when ordered but it would be Yami that took the damage of half the possessed monster's attack points.

**Yugi – LP: 4000 – LP: 3250**

"And the seven hundred and fifty **you** lost will be added to **my** Life Points," Dark Bakura revealed. My mouth unhinged upon hearing the last bit and I almost felt like yelling at the spirit for this underhanded card, except at that exact moment the creepy spirit flew right by us causing me to squeak in fright and I moved closer to my sister for comfort until the ghost left our area, letting me relax, even if it was only by a hair's breadth.

**Dark Bakura – LP: 150 – LP: 900**

"You absorbed my life?!" Yami questioned. This Dark Sanctuary was a truly terrifying card with all the effects that it had thanks to that accursed ghost, Yami had to figure out a way to get rid of that damned thing before he ended up running low on Life Points; Dark Bakura claimed it was too early for the ancient spirit to be surprised and claimed it was the start of his deck's terror.

"Lovely," Kylie drawled. Sometimes I wish I wasn't so scared of things like this wishing I could be more like my sister, Dark Bakura made his move by pulling a card from his deck and then proceeded to activate the Permanent Trap known as Ouija Board, naturally those native to Japan or less travelled were confused by the objects appearance as Jounouchi wondered what it was.

"I-In We-Western c-countries a Ouija B-Board i-is u-used t-to co-communic-cate wi-with sp-spirits," I shakily explained. Shizuka wondered if it was similar to Japan's Fox Spirit whilst Anzu claimed it was creepy; Dark Bakura explained the function of the Ouija Board to spell out a message from the spirits with the planchette moving across the board until the hole in its' surface encompassed a letter, this letter from D.

As if responding to the chosen letter a small pale blue fireball appeared in the air with the letter D hovering within its' circumference, Yami was surprised by this but Dark Bakura laughed at this and went on to reveal in the coming turns that four new letters would join the D on the field and these letters were E, A, T and H; there was only one word those five letters spelled out and that was Death which Yami also managed to figure out.

"That's right! When all the letters of 'death' mark the message of demise, even **if** you still have Life Points remaining, you'll be eliminate right on the spot!" Dark Bakura explained. He then began to laugh , this meant that Yami had at least only four turns left until the message was fulfilled and with that Hateful Spirit flying about able to possess Yami's monster it made it a risk to attack Dark Bakura.

However there had to be a price to pay for Dark Sanctuary to stay on the field, it was simply **too** powerful for there to be no cost attached to it at all; true Dark Necrofear's destruction activated it but that didn't mean there were no further costs attached to it, Dark Bakura then proceeded to activate a Magic Card known as The Dark Door which forced Yami to only attack with one monster each turn.

'Rats! With that Yami'll have to take a gamble on which monster is possessed and if he guesses wrong then that's it for attacking that turn. Unless he manages to draw Cyclone or something like that sooner than four turns.' I thought. As I did Dark Bakura proceeded to set one card face down and he then summoned out Earthbound Spirit in attack mode, he was really confident in the spirit keeping him safe.

**Earthbound Spirit – Attribute: Earth, Type: Demon, Level: 4, ATK/500, DEF/2000**

"I plan to sacrifice this guy," Dark Bakura revealed. That confused me as it did Kylie seeing as how explaining his intention's wasn't necessary and there was a risk that Yami's choice in attacking monster might be correct thus preventing his sacrifice. "The Permanent Field Magic, Dark Sanctuary, requires a sacrifice each and every turn. Turn over!" Dark Bakura declared. In response the newly summoned monster was swallowed up as had been the intent.

At least now I knew of the price required and several counter strategies flitted through my head as to how that could be stopped, of course nothing would happen if Yami didn't have the necessary cards to follow through with any of the counter strategies that I thought up; the ancient spirit drew a card and proceeded to analyse his cards before making his move by summoning out Kuriboh.

**Kuriboh – Attribute: Dark, Type: Demon, Level: 1, ATK/300, DEF/200**

Whilst Kuriboh normally brightened my day no matter what, this time however it didn't because of how terrifying everything else was at this moment that prevented me from feeling any joy upon the furball's appearance, Yami then proceeded to have Black Magician Girl move in for the attack; however the blonde magician proceeded to freeze up as the Onryou surged out and smashed into Yami, this latest Spirit Burn brought the duelists' Life Points to be almost equalised.

**Yugi – LP: 3250 – LP: 2000**

**Bakura – LP: 900 – LP: 2150**

Naturally Yami was surprised by this turn of events but the fact that this evil spirit could change between hosts seemed obvious and Dark Bakura went on to state that this was indeed the case and Yami had to be careful with his choices or risk self-destruction, Yami had no choice but to end his turn since he had no other useful cards in his hand thus this caused the letter E to appear much in the same way its' predecessor did.

Dark Bakura bragged about how every time Yami's turn came to an end then another letter of the death message would be brought to play in the duel, suddenly Kylie let out a small hum sound as she starred at Dark Bakura's duel disk and I noticed that Yami was doing the same thing so I turned my gaze to the object and I saw that he currently had four cards resting in his Magic/Trap zone.

"Bakura, before you gather the 'Death' letters, you still require three more of the Death message cards. But you only have one open slot on your disk open!" Yami stated. That was true and as such without two more slots being free then Yami was safe for far longer than four turn; however instead of being surprised or angered by the acknowledgement, the evil instead proceeded to grin.

"Thank you for the warning. But don't go thinking you found a **weakness** in my strategy!" Dark Bakura insisted. The way he was confident about Yami knowing this fact caused my lips to twisted into a deep frown as I wondered what he was up to. "Let me explain, Dark Sanctuary doesn't have the Onryou as its' Special Ability! I can now play both Magic and Trap cards in the Monster Zone slots on the disk!" Dark Bakura explained.

Naturally all of us were shocked by this announcement and I think Kylie started to choke a little judging by the weird sounds that she ended up making, things were definitely going to get worse before they could get any better and I was worried about whether Yami would be able to stop the message from being completed and win the duel.

"My Occult combo is perfect! Yugi! Your life ends in three turns! You can't escape this fate!" Dark Bakura declared. The others watching with us were naturally worried about this turn of events but all we could do was hold out hope that Yami would be successful in stopping the Ouija Board as Honda pointed out although Mai reminded them that none of us – expect maybe Dark Bakura – knew which monster was possessed by the Hateful Spirit.

"Big brother, is Yugi-san going to lose?" Shizuka asked. Jounouchi's response was it wouldn't happen showing the complete faith that he had in his best friend and it was something that we could all draw strength from as we were forced to watch our friend struggle in this duel; Dark Bakura made his move by summoning out Critter.

**Critter – Attribute: Dark, Type: Demon, Level: 3, ATK/1000, DEF/600**

Dark Bakura then proceeded to sacrifice Critter in order to keep Dark Sanctuary on the field thus leaving him unprotected but its' sacrifice did allow the psychotic spirit to add a monster with fifteen hundred attack points or less into his hand, with that done Dark Bakura proceeded to end his turn thus giving Yami a chance to escape from the death trap he was currently stuck in.

"My turn! Draw!" Yami announced. He removed the top card and I noticed that the crazy spirit was smirking, only he could see the Onryou before the spirit launched its' attack on Yami and as such only he would know the monster that was chosen; Yami looked between his monsters attempting to determine which one was possessed, Kuriboh was obviously out so that left Black Magician Girl and Magnet Warrior, there was a lump in my throat as we waited for Yami to make a decision.

"I summon Big Shield Gardna, in defence mode!" Yami announced. The monster was projected onto the field and we could at least be assured that this monster wasn't possessed but attacking with it would be even **more** useless than attempting to attack with Kuriboh due to its' low attack power, I let out a shaky breath as we continued to wait for the inevitable choice.

**Big Shield Gardna – Attribute: Earth, Type: Warrior, Level: 4, ATK/100, DEF/2600**

"Haven't you realised it yet Yugi! There's no point in trying to defend yourself!" Dark Bakura mocked. Even though it left a vile taste in my mouth I had to admit that the psychopath was right and Yami had to pick one of his monsters since by this turn's End Phase he'd only have two more left and if he didn't do anything this turn it'd be a waste of a potential opportunity to win or at least regain the lead.

"I attack with Magnet Warrior Gamma!" Yami announced. The chosen monster proceeded to attack but Dark Bakura quickly activated a Trap card known as Dark Spirit of the Silent which let the evil spirit choose which of Yami's monsters attacked; naturally the psychopath would choose the one possessed by the Hateful Spirit and Black Magician Girl was forced to attack – tears bubbling in her green eyes as she did – causing Onryou to surge forth and smash into Yami, stripping him of more Life Points and giving them to Dark Bakura.

**Yugi – LP: 2000 – LP: 750**

**Bakura LP: 2150 – LP: 3400**

The evil spirit was completely assured of his victory with even Otogi believing that there was no way to stop the combo that had been set up, sadly that proceeded to upset Shizuka which got Honda angry at the shop owner for worrying the brunette girl; the girl turned to her brother but Jounouchi didn't respond to her, so Kylie reached over to lay a hand on the girl's shoulder causing her to look at my sister with surprise in her eyes.

"He'll win, have a little faith Shizuka," Kylie reassured. We turned our attention back to the duel with Dark Bakura continuing to mock Yami who was quiet and not making any moves, he must have been trying to figure out what moves he could make to escape the combo standing before him, I noticed Yami's eyes narrow before he set two cards face down.

"So you still continue on with your futile strategies even when the certainty of death awaits you?!" Dark Bakura mocked. Yami stated that he would always survive that one turn in order to see the possibilities that the next turn would bring him. "Don't make me laugh, there are no 'new possibilities'!" Dark Bakura retaliated. Yami proceeded to end his turn allowing the evil spirit to activate his third Spirit Message bringing A onto the field and tightening the tension on the field.

After mocking Yami a little more, Dark Bakura finally made his move by bringing a monster onto the field, it was so obvious that the only reason he was bringing out such a monster was to sacrifice it for his Dark Sanctuary; he was so confident in the combo that he had set up that he saw no possibility of him losing, the evil spirit summoned out Grudge Aggregate.

**Grudge Aggregate – Attribute: Earth, Type: Demon, Level: 2, ATK/900, DEF/200**

Just as predicted Dark Bakura sacrificed his monster to protect Dark Sanctuary and then proceeded to gloat about the victory he was **so certain** he had in just two more turns before ending his turn; Yami's response was to claim that the evil spirit had become full of himself and it would have been safer to keep his ego in check, naturally Dark Bakura was insulted and angered by the ancient spirit's taunting words.

"Bakura… in my next two turns, I will crush your Occult Combo!" Yami declared. Mai asked if he had found a way to fight back and Jounouchi was equally happy about this fact and stated his belief in his friend for finding a way out of this situation, however I was still metaphorically holding my breath until Yami actually managed to stop Dark Bakura's combo.

Yami proceeded to start his turn but the psychotic spirit Yami was facing didn't believe our friend's claim of beating his combo and even believed that Yami was the one full of himself; however Yami's response was that a Duelist had as many possibilities as the cards that where held in their hand as he moved to readjust his hand before activating one of the face downs he played last turn.

"Trap Card! Collected Power! Every Equipment Card on the field is now equipped to Kuriboh!" Yami announced. As a result of the Trap card, the Incantation Book of Black Magic attached to Black Magician Girl appeared above her and then flew to land in front of the little furball; all Equipment cards also included the Hateful Spirit meaning that we now knew which monster was possessed by the Onryou.

As Yami explained what was going on I noticed that poor Kuriboh seemed to be greatly confused by the book resting in front of it which caused a small giggle to come from me, the Onryou then surged from Black Magician Girl and into poor Kuriboh; however Yami wasn't finished as he used Exorcism in order to destroy all face up Demon-type monsters and Kuriboh was a Demon-type.

Thanks to Exorcism Kuriboh would be destroyed alongside all of its' Equipment cards as a result which meant that the spirit haunting Dark Sanctuary was destroyed as well meaning that none of Yami's monsters would be possessed anymore and he was safe from taking any damage when making an attack against Dark Bakura now.

"I wouldn't get too cocky if I were you, Yugi! It's not as if you've completely broken my Occult Combo or anything!" Dark Bakura warned. However Yami's response to the evil spirit was that he wasn't done with his turn yet which caused the white haired man to freeze briefly as his eyes widened, I looked at the face down card that remained on Yami's field.

There was definitely one way I could think of to defeat this dangerous combo and it required the destruction of Dark Sanctuary since that card was the cornerstone of Dark Bakura's entire strategy, the way to stop that card was related to its' activation requirements; those around us cheered the ancient spirit on but I felt a sharp spike of magical energy come from behind me causing me to look backwards as did Kylie.

Our eyes locked onto Namu before turning back as we cast each other a sideward glance, neither of us trusted this boy and I wondered what he could possibly be up to and what kind of magic he was using… it actually felt similar to my Millennium Gauntlet which left a sour taste in my mouth at the possible meaning behind that feeling so I tightened my hands as I focused on the duel before me.

"Bakura! I'm going to destroy your Occult Combo! The Magic Card, Resurrection of the Dead!" Yami announced. The card rose up and in response a light began to shine from Dark Bakura's graveyard meaning that the monster was coming from his sacrificed group. "Dark Necrofear revives!" Yami revealed. The terrifying creature emerged back onto the field alongside its' creepy doll cradled in the monster's arms.

As a result of the monster's return, Dark Sanctuary started to destabilise and proceeded to fade away causing my body to relax without that oppressive aura bearing down on my shoulders; Yami stated that since Dark Sanctuary was gone then Dark Bakura had lost his extra spaces with only one free slot left on his Duel Disk, ergo if he wanted to complete the Death message then he had to get rid of The Dark Door, opening himself up to a series of attacks if he did so.

"Now I can attack you with this guy! Dark Necrofear! Prey for Death Gaze!" Yami declared. The blue skinned monster widened its' eyes causing red beams to shoot from the orbs and over towards Dark Bakura, hitting him for the first time since Dark Sanctuary's activation and finally depleting some of his vastly accumulated Life Points. "Now my turn is over!" Yami stated. I looked at Dark Bakura to see that the evil spirit was rather angered by the blow he'd been dealt.

**Bakura – LP: 3400 – LP: 1200**

"Ouija Board's effect activates!" Dark Bakura declared. The fourth letter was brought onto the field but as a result the final open slot on the psychopath's Duel Disk had been filled and Yami explained the condition for Dark Bakura to complete his message that I had already spotted, Yami also stated the problem that would occur if he did remove The Dark Door also Dark Bakura wouldn't be able to get enough monsters out to protect him from taking damage.

Dark Bakura really wasn't taking this well, whilst the others were completely assured that our friend was going to win this duel; however there was something I just couldn't shake off yet until the last Life Point fell away, Dark Bakura swore not to lose and then proceeded to draw a card from his deck but upon seeing it, he began to laugh.

"That's far enough Yugi! So long as I have this card, you can't stop my Occult Combo!" Dark Bakura announced. Jounouchi was shocked by this and wondered if the evil spirit actually had a strategy in mind to defeat Yami, even I was a little sceptical of what card Dark Bakura could use to possibly prevent Yami from winning this duel.

"Just what card did he draw?" Yami wondered. That was truly the question upon each of our minds.


	25. Chapter 25

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback, or something in another language.**

**Fore warning, whilst this won't affect Battle of Destiny Begins, due to the sudden rise in heat and my home's incredibly annoying heat retention coupled with my headphones that I NEED to use, I'm taking a break from writing stuff that requires me to listen to it, as soon as this heat ebbs I'm getting back to it. **

**I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 25: - Shatter the Darkness

I clicked my tongue against my teeth in response to Dark Bakura's claim, what card could he have that would possibly allow him to preserve his Occult Combo, the psychotic spirit praised Yami for being able to push him so far into a corner but he claimed that it was going to be stopped now; I pressed my teeth against the corner of my mouth as Dark Bakura's made his move by summoning out Zangxuan the Spirit Purifier.

"Oh... not good," Katherine commented. She was right about that as Jowgen's effect enabled him to destroy all Special Summoned monster by the controller discarding one card from their hand and its' continued presence would prevent any future Special Summons which left Normal Summoning and Advance Summoning as the only way for Yami to protect himself, although he did currently have three monsters on his side of the field which meant Yami might have a way to escape from the situation that was about to erupt thanks to the evil spirit's actions.

**Zangxuan the Spirit Purifier – Attribute: Light, Type: Spellcaster, Level: 3, ATK/200, DEF/1300**

Yami was naturally alarmed by the monster's appearance yet Jounouchi was confused and even had to ask what it did which nearly made me slap my face and caused Katherine to actual to so in exasperation at the knuckle headed blonde we'd befriended, Honda was also annoyed by his friend's lack of knowledge but even he didn't know since he wasn't a duelist but at least he had an excuse unlike Jounouchi, apart from being an idiot but I don't think that was much of an excuse given who he was friends with.

Dark Bakura proceeded to explain what Zanguxan's effect was, Jounouchi quickly caught onto what this meant whilst Mai vocally confirmed it, Dark Bakura would be able to destroy Dark Necrofear thus unleashing that dreadful Dark Sanctuary all over again and allowing Dark Bakura to play the final Spirit Message and winning this Duel on his next turn if he had it in his hand right now, all we could do was hope that it wasn't the case.

That psycho proceeded to discard one of his cards thus activating Zanguxan's effect, the spiritualist spun his staff around before pointing the end at Dark Necrofear unleashing a blast of purple coloured kanji at the dark creature which destroyed it, with Dark Sanctuary once more entrapping our surroundings and causing Katherine to start clinging to me again whilst I gritted my teeth together at the utter mess we were currently in once again; Jounouchi was creeped out by the field becoming Dark Sanctuary once more.

"Idiot! Now isn't the time to be getting scared! If this keeps up Yugi is certain to lose in one turn," Mai explained. Either she had directed her comment at my sister as well or she was ignoring the scared girl clinging to me like a koala, Mai's words did get everyone to start worrying about Yami although Jounouchi didn't and instead stated that he would believe in his friend until the end, it was good for him to focus on something apart from the evil spirit roaming this place which I was shooting a death glare at if it ever came near our position.

"There's one way out but Yami needs to draw a card in order to go through with it, all we can do is watch and hope," I commented. I felt confused eyes gaze at me but I wasn't about to reveal the trump card that Yami possessed when that psychopath could heard us; Dark Bakura proceeded to sacrifice Zangxuan in order to maintain Dark Sanctuary which meant a Special Summon could now be accomplished however attempting to revive Dark Necrofear would simply be a folly since it had been countered easily already, the evil spirit then set one card face down but with it being in the Monster Zone thanks to Dark Sanctuary, I couldn't tell if it was a Magic, Trap or an actual monster.

Dark Bakura reminded everyone of the Hateful Spirit's presence with it having gone invisible as it searched out which of Yami's monsters it should possess this time, Yami was worried about this fact given his inability to attack with multiple monsters thanks to the Dark Door and the probability of choosing his possessed monster; however to add insult to injury that evil spirit revealed that his face down card was a second Dark Spirit of the Silent which nearly made me curse at the bad luck that Yami was currently having.

With everything set as it was this was the final turn and Yami had to draw the right card in order to be able to win this Duel, one hand rested on Katherine's head so the other curled tightly into a fist at the deadly situation my friend was stuck in, who knew what that psychotic spirit would do to Yami if he actually lost the duel; Yami was looking at his cards as he wondered about how to escape from this predicament.

"So you finally understand, Yugi? You have a literal zero percent chance of victory," Dark Bakura mocked. Even Otogi went as far as to agree with the evil spirit which caused Honda to get mad at the D. D. M creator, fortunately Mai put a swift stop to the argument before it even began by admitting she understood Honda's feelings but logically she knew where Otogi was coming from even admitting that the combo was perfect and Yami knew it, Shizuka asked her brother for his stance on the matter.

"I believe in Yugi!" Jounouchi declared. His unwavering faith and the strength of his words drew everyone's attention to him as a small smile curled the edge of my lips as Mai called out the blonde's name. "I said I'd believe in him and I believe! A True Duelist never gives up hope until the very last moment of the end! Besides Kylie and Katherine still have faith in him!" Jounouchi defended. At his words everyone turned their attention to us, no doubt wondering if we'd back Jounouchi up or if we'd cut the blonde down.

"Jounouchi's right, there's one card left that can help Yugi and Yami, all they have to do is draw it," Katherine answered. I looked down at my sister surprised that it had been her who answered the stares and not me **AND** that she did it **without** stuttering once in her sentence, as if galvanised by my sister and Jounouchi's belief in Yami's victory everyone began to cheer our friend on, encouraging him not to lose this Duel.

"It's futile. Even if you all cheer him on until you run out of breath, Yugi's got no chance of defeating me! Even this supposed card will be useless!" Dark Bakura declared. Knowing exactly which card could turn the tide of this battle it was possible and I could tell from Yami's expression that he knew which card we were referring to; Yami placed his fingers on the top card of his deck and declared he was betting everything as a duelist on the next draw, he drew the card... and lightning struck the airship as he held it aloft.

"I Release Black Magician Girl, Magnet Warrior Gamma and Big Shield Gardna to Advance Summon, Sky Dragon of Osiris!" Yami declared. My fist uncurled as I grinned widely at seeing the cards had answered Yami right when he needed them to; lightning danced about the playing field for a short time before finally coming together and surging up to the top of the dome that Dark Sanctuary shrouded us in.

As if to demonstrate a God's might, the lightning blasted a hole in the roof of the dome before dissolving the majority of it so only a tiny piece remained on Dark Bakura's side and Osiris manifested himself as his long serpentine body curled around the airship whilst his double mouthed head hovered near his master, looking at the beast I still felt in awe of it despite having already seen the sunset red scaled dragon and I swore that its' yellow eyes gleamed with delight as it roared at Dark Bakura, who quite frankly looked batshit scared to be staring down the God.

**Sky Dragon of Osiris – Attribute: God, Type: Phantom Beast God/Dragon, Level: 10, ATK/X000, DEF/X000**

**Sky Dragon of Osiris – ATK/X000 – ATK/3000, DEF/X000 – DEF/3000**

Everyone was gaping at seeing the draconic god for the first time, not that I could blame them seeing as I'd done the **exact** same thing when I first seen the beast and that was from afar unlike right now, Seto and Mokuba ended up having to drag/push me the last few steps to reach Yami; Dark Bakura recovered and stated that the hateful spirit from Dark Sanctuary was still wandering the field and now with no other options Osiris was the only one that it could possess, boy was he in for a nasty surprise.

"What?! The Onryou was **dispelled**?" Dark Bakura questioned. He had no hand, no protective monsters and no cards that he could activate to protect himself, the evil spirit's overconfidence in his Occult Combo was utterly shattered with the appearance of such overwhelming might, all Yami had to do was declare the attack and the Duel was his, in response to this Jounouchi let out a cheer and encouraged his friend to take the shot, it was all over now.

"Sky Dragon of Osiris, attack!" Yami declared. However as he did I noticed the Millennium Puzzle pulse and Katherine tore herself away from me suddenly which nearly caused me to topple over from the sudden force, I looked at my sister only to see her gaze locked on the elevator. "Thunder-," Yami bean to continue but stopped. His reason soon became apparent when Marik proceeded to walk over to the dueling platform with the Millennium Rod in hand as Yami turned around to face him; Otogi had to quickly pounce on Jounouchi in order to hold the blonde back from clobbering the man, not that he could be blamed.

Before attempting to lunge, Jounouchi did ask why the psychopath was present, Mokuba claimed he wouldn't forgive the man for interrupting the Duel, there was a lot we couldn't forgive this monster for doing ever since that first Duel with the possessed Keith; Yami's only words were to curse the man who'd interrupted his attack, this sudden decision to appear made me uneasy and I wondered what he was up to yet my sister did nothing, or speak for that matter, she simply gazed at the man.

"Listen carefully Yugi... that boy is being controlled by my Millennium Rod and has now become my puppet," Marik stated. I pretty sure all of us who'd encountered the evil spirit previously were doubtful of this claim with Yami personally vocalising such a fact as Bakura was obviously being controlled by the spirit, a thought came to me and it deeply worried me as I had thought that perhaps our two enemies had joined forces to dispose of Yami and Yugi. "Correct that boy is being controlled by **two **people," Marik answered.

'Well... shit!' I thought. Marik's words confirmed my fears and the man went on to offer proof by suggesting he would release the real Bakura from control, Yami was surprised and proceeded to twist around to look at his opponent with my head following quickly after as I wanted to know if what Marik was saying was true; seconds later the evil spirit tensed up as his hair smoothed down and he clutched his injured arm before slumping to his knees.

"I-it hurts... it hurts!" Bakura cried. It was definitely our white haired friend and he was still suffering from the ramifications of his wound, either the evil spirit was better at dealing with pain or he'd done something else to ease the pain Bakura was enduring. "Yugi-kun!? Where am I? Why am I **here**? Why do I have this wound?" Bakura questioned. On the last one he lifted up the shirt sleeve revealing that his wound was bleeding, this wasn't good as Bakura needed medical attention immediately.

"As you can see that boy is badly wounded. Yugi, it's true that an attack from God will grant you victory, but the damage from that shock could very well end that boy's **life**," Marik calmly stated. This time around Mai had to pounce on me to keep me from throttling this bastard, he'd put Yami in an impossible situation where he either won and sacrificed his friend or he saves his friend but lost the chance to reclaim his memories and that gave Marik more of a chance to claim the title of Pharaoh, especially since he and the evil spirit were working as one.

"What?!" Yami questioned. Marik wondered if the ancient spirit would be able to follow through with his attack, Yami's crimson eyes began to glare at the man for his deceitful actions just to force Yami to lose. "You're using Bakura's life as a **shield**, Marik?!" Yami accused. Jounouchi damned Marik for his actions whilst the others worried about Bakura's condition, as he had apparently run out of words Marik turned around and proceeded to leave the area; Bakura's pained cries snapped my attention from the monster to him as I worried about how he was doing.

In response to the cries from his friend, Yami attempted to make his way to Bakura but Seto's bodyguard ordered him to stop and explained that if Yami approached his opponent then he would be disqualified from Battle City, naturally the others started demanding that the Duel be stopped because of Bakura's injury, all the while Katherine remained quiet as she gazed after Marik before she twisted around to look at the Duel but she did nothing more than that.

"Seto, come on! Bakura needs medical attention. Now! You've got to stop the match!" I exclaimed. Bakura was in too much pain to surrender the Duel and Yami didn't have it in him to attack a wounded friend especially since his life was in danger due to the sheer power that Osiris possessed, my eyes were locked with the brunette CEO hoping that he would see reason and call this accursed Duel off, Yami was clearly the victor.

"Not until Yami attacks!" Seto answered. I almost screamed at that but controlled myself although I did proceeded to roughly rake my hands through my vibrant red hair, things were made worse when both Isono and Seto himself urged the ancient spirit to continue with his attack yet the hesitation shining in my king's eyes causing me to press my lips together tightly, Jounouchi climbed up and almost got disqualified himself; however he was saved from such a fate when I suddenly heard my sister take in a deep breath.

"HEY! PSYCHO SPIRIT OF THE RING!" Katherine bellowed. Everyone jumped at the unexpected loudness that my sister projected with everyone staring at her in surprise, I couldn't recall a single insistence in my life when my sister had raised her voice so this was a complete shock to even me. "IF YOU DON'T GET OUT HERE, THEN BAKURA'S GOING TO BE HURT AND YOU NEED HIM, LIKE YAMI NEEDS YUGI! SO GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER!" Katherine carried on. She greedily shucked in breaths clearly signalling that her yelling session was done but no one reacted yet, even the wind itself had fallen silent.

Suddenly a light sprang up from Bakura, surrounding him as a result and when it faded Dark Bakura was standing in his place and he was laughing rather loudly before turning to look at Katherine with a maniacal look on his face, my sister did the very wise thing and promptly ducked back behind my leg although she shyly peeked out to look at the evil spirit that she'd managed to summon back to this Duel at the best possible time... I really didn't think he'd listen to be very honest.

"You have guts talking to me that way!" Dark Bakura stated. Yami was surprised, which he vocally admitted, by this turn of events although he did shoot wary glances at me and Katherine as I pushed my sister completely behind me and sent a glare a the psychotic spirit who turned his attention back to Yami. "Yugi, I'll humbly admit my defeat this time. Attack me!" Dark Bakura dared. Yami was surprised by the sudden twist that had entered the Duel and I wondered if Dark Bakura and Marik really were working together. "What? You're little friend Bakura won't die, so don't worry. Like the little girl said, this host is important to me! I can't allow him to be killed off, so come at me!" Dark Bakura explained/dared.

"Then here I go! Sky Dragon of Osiris, direct attack!" Yami commanded. The mighty god summoned its' devastating lightning attack and unleashed it towards the evil spirit, engulfing his form in the crackling embrace, Dark Bakura declared that he would be the one to claim the power of darkness in the end and those words caused a deep chill to settle within my bones for some unknown reason as Katherine gripped my leg even tighter in response.

**Bakura – LP: 1200 – LP: 0**

Osiris disappeared, Bakura was unconscious on the floor and Isono declared that Yami – saying Yugi – was the victor of the match and so with that declaration Yami rushed to the boy whilst the Duel ring was lowered and once it was the rest of us wasted no time in hauling ourselves up to gather around our friend who Yami was lifting up gently; Bakura regained consciousness but his arm was still bleeding badly so Honda got the white haired on his back with some help from Yami and Jounouchi, once he was secured we all rushed to the boy's room.

Yami had hung back to switch with Yugi but we easily made it to Bakura's room and he was set down on his bed, since Namu wasn't in the room Katherine was able to start healing the boy who'd lost consciousness again but from the grim expression on her face I could tell that there was something present that she couldn't undo and the golden glow of her Millennium Gauntlet slowly faded away as she dropped her hand.

"I can heal the wound and other physical strains but he needs a blood transfusion, that's the **real** problem alongside some good rest and food once he wakes up," Katherine stated. Our discussion turned to the duel and Yugi admitted that his other self really could have lost that duel because of his inability to attack his injured friend, Jounouchi wondered if the evil spirit had let them win the Duel. "No... I think he was worried Yami really would attack thus killing Bakura and like I said and he confirmed, he needs Bakura to live just like Yami needs Yugi," Katherine admitted.

The discussion switched wheels to why Bakura had been put in danger to begin with, Yugi explained that it had all been Marik's doing which caused Jounouchi to get angry however I kept quiet as I thought over what had happened during the Duel primarily focusing on the events surrounding when Marik showed up, I only came around when I heard Yugi loudly call my name and when I looked at him he asked me what was wrong.

"It's Marik, but not why any of you think. There's just something weird going on, he's acting less and less like how I expected from all the possessed conversations that he had with him. The guy who's claiming to be Marik just... doesn't fit for some reason. It's hard to explain," I admitted. The others looked confused but Katherine nodded her head showing that she agreed with me on my instincts. "Anyway Bakura needs a doctor so let's go get Seto," I suggested. Everyone agreed and Anzu offered to stay with the unconscious boy whilst the rest of us took off.

"Huh?" Yugi exclaimed. We turned back to look at the boy only to find him staring at Bakura so I walked back over to stand beside him and looked at the boy myself. "It's gone. The Millennium Ring. Bakura-kun's Millennium Ring went missing after he was hit by the attack," Yugi stated. Another chill set into me as Honda complained about the vanishing tendencies of that object, Jounouchi stated that searching for it was second to getting Seto's emergency help and so they set off, I remained for a few moments before leaving meaning that I was last out the room and a distance behind the others.

"Not all is as it appears Consort," A female voice stated. I stopped in my tracks and turned around to look at the person only to find that she'd covered her appearance but my mana sense immediately identified her causing me to raise an eyebrow in surprise. "You must be wary Consort, lies and misdirection cloud the truth to all of your eyes," The red – no rhodonite – clad woman warned. I smirked as I planted a hand on my hip.

"You seemed to have changed your tune since we last met. But you already were odd, I know Marik's up to something you just gave me confirmation," I stated. The woman's eyes crinkled slightly at my words before a voice called out to me so I twisted around and jogged to catch up to my friends but not before glancing back as the rhodonite dressed woman vanished into a nearby room, a room for one of the three missing duelists.


	26. Chapter 26

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback, or something in another language.**

**I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 26: - Jounouchi VS. Trap Deck

As we rushed to Seto's room it was announced that a twenty minute break would be held before the next Duel started, Jounouchi was more sure than the rest of us about what could happen, although Kylie did seem to be in deep thought about something but she wasn't exactly forth coming about what had momentarily delayed her a short time ago; my thoughts were broken by the dinging of the elevator and I looked over to see Mokuba coming out and upon seeing us the boy asked what we were doing.

"Mokuba we need to talk to your brother urgently, where is his room?" I asked. Mokuba pointed it out to us but did question what we wanted with him, no one got the opportunity to answer that as Jounouchi immediately dashed over and started pounding on the door, demanding that the CEO come out; Mokuba was annoyed by this and started protesting the blonde's actions but then the door slid open to reveal an annoyed Seto and Jounouchi barely stopped his fist from smacking against the brunette's chest.

"Oh, It's the deadbeat. Even **you** should know how important the time before battle is for a duelist," Seto stated. Those words almost caused Jounouchi to nearly start a fight, fortunately his level headed counterpart known as Honda dashed between the two and reminded the blonde that this wasn't the time to be fighting; Yugi took the opportunity to walk up and address the CEO by asking for a favour, Seto's respect for the boy caused him to invite us into his room where he took a seat and we gathered in a semi-circle in front of him. "What is it Yugi?" Seto asked. The boy looked at me and nodded so I stepped forward drawing Seto's attention to me.

"It's Bakura. He need emergency medical attention due to the amount of blood he's lost, we need to get him to a hospital ASAP so can you please land the battle ship?" I requested. Yugi also tacked on that the white haired boy had yet to wake up since the end of their Duel with Jounouchi claiming that our friend had already been pushing himself too far by coming here to duel, Seto asked what he should do about that.

"Please land the blimp and take him to a hospital so he can be looked at," Shizuka requested. This caused the brunette to look at the sweet girl who had her hands clasped in front of her, the action resulted in a blush appearing on her cheeks and her hands were lowered yet still clasped; Honda and Otogi both supported the girl's statement, however Seto simply stated it was Bakura's own fault for dueling with his injuries in the first place but then Shizuka bowed to the CEO. "Please, I beg you. People's lives are more important than these duels," Shizuka requested. That girl was really something as most people would wither before Seto's stubbornness after being rejected the first time; the man had his attention back on the girl.

"Alright Seto quit the acting and call the doctors you're bound to have on this airship," Kylie spoke up. Everyone snapped their heads to my sister with surprised expressions on their faces except for Seto who raised an eyebrow at this. "You're too cautious to take the risk that one of your finalists could potentially have a chronic medical condition and **not** have someone around to treat them," Kylie stated. Seto let out a sigh as he pressed his hand to his head before standing up and sending the medical staff to Bakura's room.

With that settled we proceeded to leave Seto in peace although Honda and Otogi both started falling over Shizuka complimenting her for what she had said causing a sweat drop to appear on my head whilst Kylie heaved a sigh at their antics, soon Honda came over and stated he would look for the Millennium Ring but when Yugi offered to held, he refused it since we needed to focus on the upcoming duels and reassured us it was fine before dragging Otogi away from Shizuka who let out a sigh of relief; Otogi was forcibly taken to the elevator and the door closed on them, with Jounouchi commenting that they could be useful sometimes.

"Yeah, but don't you think Honda-kun was acting weird," Yugi commented. Kylie patted the boy's shoulder at this, there was nothing weird about how Honda was acting considering that he was probably angry at Otogi for flirting with the girl he liked in front of him; with Bakura's situation resolved, we proceeded to split up to focus on our strategies, I entered my room and immediately spread my deck out before picking up a series of combos and setting them aside, I then settled my hands on my three Primordial Gods feeling their strength flow to me and giving me comfort.

Suddenly a jolt of magic power shot through my senses which snapped me back to reality, so I quickly grabbed my deck and put it together before rushing out of my room, only to nearly collide with my sister; after steadying myself the two of us exchanged a look and nod then we took off coming to Yugi's door which Kylie swiftly opened with her magic only to find that inches from the doorway was an individual dressed in white with a turban secured around the head.

"I am a guardian of the Millennium Items. And currently, all eight items are gathered aboard this ship. Adding to that the God Cards are here as well. All the requirements needed to open the door to the Pharaohs memory on aboard this Battle Ship," The person in front spoke. It was a masculine voice and I knew of only one person who dressed like this and would know so much about the Millennium Items and God Cards, it was someone none of us had seen since Duelist Kingdom.

"Seriously Shadi?" Kylie asked. The man turned to look at us and inclined his head as a greeting so we stepped into the room and Kylie closed the door, Yugi smiled at us before we turned our attention to the mysterious man. "Quick question, you got any knowledge as to why so many people are referring to me as the Consort of the Pharaoh?" Kylie asked. Shadi nodded his head to show that he did understand why people were calling her such a thing I wasn't surprised by Kylie's question since I really wanted those answers too.

"An ancient tablet, similar to the one depicting an ancient battle between the Pharaoh and a priest along with the God Cards and Millennium Puzzle, shows a woman bearing your likeness and bracelet being named as such, the exact reasoning was worn away however," Shadi explained. At least it was something and Kylie proceeded to relax a little at those words although her eyes still gleamed with worry. "But listen carefully, all three of you. Both the Millennium Items and the God Cards may only be used by those chosen wield to them. If one who is not chosen tries to use them, they shall suffer the God's wrath," Shadi warned.

We were confused by this and so Shadi told us a tale; some time after gaining his Millennium Eye and learning of Duel Monsters from palettes depicting the monsters, Uncle Pegasus returned to Egypt several times to discover more palettes about the Pharaoh and his priests, these actions were what would lead to the revival of Duel Monsters in our current age; Uncle Pegasus' studies eventually led to his discovery of the God Cards and he immediately set out to find them but it was a struggle to do so.

At least until Shadi showed up one day and explained that the Tomb Keepers had sealed the God Cards away with their Power of Darkness and Uncle Pegasus would never find them as a result, but Shadi offered to guide him and guide him Shadi did using his Millennium Key to protect them from detection by the guards in an underground town; the palette was found and all the information on the God Cards was recorded allowing Uncle Pegasus to return to America.

However as Shadi admitted, even he did not know the terror which was about to be unleashed, Shadi had wanted to know if those chosen by the Millennium Items could wield the God Cards as well; apparently all those involved in the God Cards' expedition died except for Pegasus, I remembered those days clearly as he'd been bordering on furious even refusing to come to our birthdays due to his obsession in completing Duel Monsters.

Others became delusional and developed panic attacks, this started a series of arguments between father and his half-brother as father wanted Uncle Pegasus to stop before the man ended up dying himself but Pegasus refused to listen to him and decided to take the brunt of that wrath, Uncle Pegasus personally designed the cards but it was then that Shadi delivered a warning to Pegasus revealing that by reviving the Gods he had brought a terrible fate upon the world as even he could not control the three Gods at once unless they were sealed away once more in Egypt.

Taking Shadi's warning seriously, Pegasus rendered the three Gods into cards and returned with them to Egypt where he encountered a specific woman who Kylie identified as being called Ishizu – I wondered if it was the same woman who'd with appeared after our Tag Duel with Azurite and Rhodonite – Shadi nodded his head at this then asked for Yugi to pass these words to the Pharaoh, but at that moment the Puzzle glowed and Yami took Yugi's place and requested he be told directly, Yami's appearance caused Shadi to kneel.

"I am most sorry. All eight items are aboard this ship. All you need to do is win the duels and open the gate with your own power," Shadi explained. That was something that would be difficult to do as it would mean defeating the other two God Cards but at least Yami had one of his own, however then I noticed Shadi looking at me and Kylie. "There is a final part to my tale. Although the cards were sealed Pegasus was terrified that someone evil would discover and control the Gods, to calm him, Ishizu sent him to ruins in Greece and China were Pegasus discovered a palette depicting four and five cards respectively that could defeat the Gods and he created them," Shadi explained.

On instinct my hand dropped to my deck as did Kylie's, Greek Mythology was the origin of my entire deck were as Kylie's Guardians were from Chinese Mythology and that meant that our most powerful cards had to be the ones that Shadi was speaking about, however I was concerned about this fourth card Shadi mentioned as I only had three; at that moment an announcement was made which revealed our twenty minute break was over and we were to report to the main lobby, our attention had been dragged upwards as a result so when our eyes came back down we found that Shadi was gone.

"Guess it's time to go. Marik and Seto need their butts kicking but if I do get either card don't expect me to hand it to you so easily Yami," Kylie warned. In response Yami smirked clearly indicating that he would expect nothing less from her, we then left the room only to find Honda and Otogi talking to Jounouchi and Shizuka about being saved and something that involved a ghost, Yami ended up scaring Jounouchi when he settled a hand on the blonde's shoulder; Honda explained what happened to them which essentially boiled down to, they nearly died until Shadi appeared and saved them, I'll have to thank him next time we meet.

We arrived in the lobby and the Bingo machine was started with the Numbers two and seven being spat out and these number correlated to Jounouchi and Marik respectively – it also let us learn that Marik's surname was Ishtar – worry burst to life inside of me since Marik possessed the third God card and Jounouchi didn't have a way to counter its' power and he could end up being seriously hurt as a result of clashing against it.

Unfortunately we couldn't stop the Duel so we went to the aerial dueling platform, Marik's hood was blown down revealing that he was mostly bald except for the small ponytail of black hair at the back of his head and his carving/tattoo extended over his ear; the two of them shuffled the others decks with Jounouchi heatedly glaring at the psychopath who remained completely expressionless in the face of the blonde's anger which was kind of interesting when taking into account all the possessed conversations we'd had with the man.

The others talked about what Jounouchi's look meant for his opponent – although Honda stated it only applied to fistfights – with Shizuka being nervous since it was her first time seeing her brother Duel so Anzu reassured her to just cheer him on as best as she cold; eventually Isono had to step in and get Jounouchi focused on the duel, the two swapped their decks back and took up their positions although Jounouchi was stupid enough to declare that Marik would lose to him by Marik's eleventh turn which caused Kylie to slap her forehead.

"Idiot," Kylie hissed. All of us except for Shizuka agreed with her, Shizuka however blindly believed in her brother's words and none of us had the heart to correct her although Mai outright called the blonde's words nonsense; however Marik then proceeded to pull out his Millennium Rod causing me to push my cardigan sleeve up and allow a glow to be emitted from my Gauntlet whilst Jounouchi flinched backwards, however the psychopath then tucked the Rod away underneath his cloak causing my magic to fade away but I kept my sleeve up.

"That was frightening," I commented. For now it appeared that Marik was going to Duel fair and square which was something of a novelty given previous interactions, however I noticed Marik's eyes dart down to our location briefly before turning back to his opponent but since it was so quick I couldn't quite tell who he had been looking at... although I don't think it was Yugi from the general direction his eyes had been cast, it seemed more likely to be around Anzu's area than anywhere else; with that the Duel began.

**Jounouchi – LP: 4000**

**Marik – LP: 4000**

"I get to go first! Draw card!" Jounouchi declared. He drew a card as Honda and Mai cheered him on although Yugi did reveal that Jounouchi didn't have Red-Eyes when Otogi asked about it which caused the ravenette and Honda to vocalise their disagreement with such an act despite Jounouchi's promise regarding that card; although I did have to disagree with Otogi's comment that Jounouchi's deck hadn't powered up as he'd would have won some rare cards from his duels so those should help him in the finals.

However, mere second after that thought occurred, a strong gust of wind blew over us and Jounouchi's cards were ripped from his grasp causing the boy to make a mad grab for them, this event probably caused all our hearts to freeze until the blonde caught the cards which is when I heaved a sigh of relief whilst Kylie muttered something under her breath that I'm sure was a stream of insults; Shizuka also seemed annoyed by this, up until she complimented him which caused all of us to fall down in shock.

"Concentrate... concentrate," Jounouchi spoke. He had his eyes closed and appeared to be calming himself which was no doubt necessary after the fright he'd just had, the blonde then opened his eyes and gripped a card he held. "Alright, my turn! I play this! Gearfried the Iron Knight in attack mode!" Jounouchi announced. The monster was projected onto the field and Honda complimented it but then Jounouchi was foolish enough to not set any face downs to protect his monster.

**Gearfried the Iron Knight – Attribute: Earth, Type: Warrior, Level: 4, ATK/1800, DEF/1600**

"My turn, Field Magic activate. Temple of the Royal Family!" Marik calmly stated. He slid the card into the retractable slot and the ground began to shake as a temple rose up behind Marik with Egyptian markings across its' surface. "This has now become a sanctuary for the Pharaohs' treasures! All beings other than the Tomb Keepers must humble themselves before this sacred ground!" Marik declared. Those words caused my eyebrows to furrow as it seemed such a strange thing for him to say after his previous display of hatred towards Yami.

Jounouchi was confused by this words until Marik explained that thanks to this card effect Jounouchi could only set one card face down per turn, Marik then set two cards face down and all but stated that these face downs were Traps due to the words that he used and ended his turn before daring Jounouchi to 'set foot on the sacred ground' which I'm assuming meant he was daring the blonde to attack him, however his actions caused me to scratch my head in confusion; on the other hand Anzu and Honda cheered Jounouchi on with their lack of knowledge showing.

"You idiots! The face downs are clearly Traps and who knows what could happen, deck destruction, loss of Life Points, destruction of monsters, stealing of monsters, negation of card effects... who knows what those cards could do. Jounouchi has to be careful," Kylie stated. Otogi agreed with my sister's words as carelessly throwing oneself into a trap ridden field was utter suicide; there was also the sarcophagus at the top of the Temple that caused some concern to grow as to what its' purpose could be.

Jounouchi didn't make his move quickly, implying that he was thinking over his strategy but then that knucklehead's lack of a poker face came to the forefront when his expression became one of giddiness and I groaned at this fact; the blonde proceeded to make his move by summoning out Little Winguard in attack mode but he didn't bother to set any face downs to try and deal with the traps.

**Little Winguard – Attribute: Wind, Type: Warrior, Level: 4, ATK/1400, DEF/1800**

Honda claimed that he appeared to have this under control whilst Shizuka admitted that she was getting nervous, on the other hand Marik was completely calm as he set another two cards face down and he ended his turn; my lips turned into a frown at this unusual strategy since I'd never heard of this kind of strategy before, I glanced at Kylie who had a confused look on her face as she watched the Duel with her right hand clasping the back of her head.

"What the hell? I've never seen someone duel like this before," Kylie stated. Given both of our lengthy experience in regards to dueling that was saying something and I was worried about how this would turn out; Jounouchi swiftly made his move by summoning out Falcon Knight meaning that he now had monsters, whose attack points totalled over four thousand meaning that if these attacks got through then Jounouchi won... my instincts told me that that wouldn't be the case.

**Falcon Knight – Attribute: Earth, Type: Warrior, Level: 3, ATK/1000, DEF/700**

"Marik, you fell into my trap! Magic Card activate, Hurricane!" Jounouchi announced. He slid the card into his Duel Disk causing a roaring squall of wind to be whipped up, Mai complimented the move as now all Magic and Trap cards would be removed with Yugi stating that his friend had won, however if this was the extent of Jounouchi's plan then a single probability left it with a massive and gaping hole in the successfulness in that plan.

As the swirling winds reached Marik's side of the field it suddenly started shaking before eventually dissipating all together without removing any of Marik's face downs and the man himself declared that Jounouchi had walked into his trap with him revealing that he had been waiting for the blonde to activate a Magic card instead of a Monster card like the knucklehead had been thinking, Marik revealed that he knew Jounouchi had Hurricane and his lack of face downs cemented his intention to use it due to the effect hitting both fields and he even went as far as to call humans foolish as they did nothing that they deemed worthless.

"Jounouchi, such tactics are child's play to me, the great Marik! **This** is the Trap card you deserve, Judgment of Anubis! This card activates when the opponent uses a Magic card, the effect is negated and every monster on their field is destroyed and your opponent receives half their attack points as damage to their Life Points," Marik stated. As Marik spoke above the field a purple miasma formed the shape of a dog's head with red eyes glaring down at Jounouchi and by the time the psycho finished speaking the miasma began to swirl out before piercing each of Jounouchi's monsters and flowing to the blonde who flinched back slightly.

**Jounouchi – LP: 4000 – LP: 1900**

"Jounouchi, this is only the beginning of the **true** Trap Hell you will fall into," Marik warned. Yugi stated that Trap cards could turn the tide of a Duel in a single instant but the worst damage they did was the mental attacks on a duelist with Mai commenting that they'd caused a lot of stress which was true, after all Defend Slime had caused Yami hell in his Duel against the Doll since it had prevented Osiris' destruction on the turn it was summoned.

"If Marik's got a deck loaded with Traps then Jounouchi is out of his depths, facing down Traps requires a level head, that isn't exactly the knucklehead's speciality," Kylie stated. Shizuka asked if her brother was going to be alright with several of those around us reassuring the kind girl that he would be fine, I decided not to bring up the fact that Marik could turn this into a Shadow Game at the drop of a hat if he so felt like it and it appeared Kylie decided the same since she said nothing as well.

Turning our attention back to the Duel, Marik insisted that Jounouchi complete his turn but the blonde claimed he'd used the turn to test the psycho's abilities and admitted he underestimated Marik, he also spouted some nonsense that made me want to smack the idiot upside the head and Kylie had planted her head into her hands as if to hide from the embarrassing connection; poor sweet Shizuka was delusional enough to believe every word he said, thank the Gods I wasn't like that with my sister since I at least knew when she was in over her head.

Jounouchi declared it was Marik's turn so the man simply set two more cards face down, this got Jounouchi mad at him for only setting Traps and demanded that he fight fair and square but Marik's response to that accusation was that Jounouchi shouldn't call him a coward simply because the blonde couldn't understand a Trap deck, even stating that it was a brilliant strategy yet his voice had remained even and calm as he responded to Jounouchi's anger which caused me to tilt my head to the side in confusion.

"I was expecting Marik to be more...," I spoke up. However I trailed off as I tried to think about how to word my opinion of the psycho from our limited interactions, in response to this Otogi suggested aggressive whilst Mai offered up loud and Kylie gave anger. "Yes, to all of the above. Not calm and composed, almost serene really. It just seems so... odd for him to be behaving differently to how he did through his puppets," I finished. Suddenly heated eyes drilled into me from behind so I glanced back in time to see Namu looking at the Duel but a dark gaze was still present in his eyes.

"Then allow me to show you the true way to play Duel Monsters!" Jounouchi snapped. This wasn't good as the blonde was letting his anger get the best of him which would cloud his mind and impede his ability to Duel properly, letting one's emotions enter a Duel isn't necessarily bad so long as the emotions are tempered and controlled by logic; to Duel solely on emotion means one can only ever **react** and **never** act. "My turn, draw! I Summon Wyvern Warrior in attack mode!" Jounouchi stated. Fortunately Jounouchi wasn't completely controlled by anger as he ended his turn with a face down.

**Wyvern Warrior – Attribute: Earth, Type: Warrior, Level: 4, ATK/1500, DEF/1200**

I think all of us were relieved by that move since it was the safest one to make until he found a way passed those Traps, Marik simply ended his turn without doing anything beyond his draw phase, this caused Jounouchi's eye to twitch and so he copied his opponent's previous move but then Marik did the same thing; I wasn't sure why the seemingly odd man wasn't summoning out any monsters... unless he didn't have any monster cards.

Jounouchi's short fuse had finally burnt itself out with that action and he completely ignored all of us when we tried to get him to calm down since his cool had finally lost, as such Jounouchi summoned out Rocket Warrior in attack mode and he immediately proceeded to attack his opponent with the Monster, there were several ways this could play out and it wasn't going to be good for Jounouchi at all.

**Rocket Warrior – Attribute: Light, Type: Warrior, Level: 4, ATK/1500, DEF/1300**

"Trap card activate! Willpower of the Wadjet Eye!" Marik declared. The card lifted up to reveal an eye shaped hieroglyph which was projected out onto Rocket Warrior. "Due to the effect of this Trap, the Monster who sees the Wadjet Eye shall be under the control of the player for one full turn. Rocket Warrior attack Wyvern Warrior!" Marik explained. The attack was diverted to Jounouchi's other monster and if it hit then Jounouchi would lose one of his monsters and who knows what other Traps Marik had just waiting to be activated.

"I had a feeling you'd do that! Magic card activate, Monster Box!" Jounouchi retaliated. The face down card opened and Wyvern Warrior was sucked into the box that was projected onto the field, as a result Rocket Warrior lost its' target and was left flying around in a circle; Wyvern Warrior poked the top of its' head out of one of the holes so Marik had it attack that one causing dust to fly up, when it cleared both monsters popped their heads out from the box indicating that Marik had missed. "Too bad! My monster's unscratched! Plus I found the weak point of your Trap Tactic!" Jounouchi taunted.

My eyes alongside Marik's own and everyone else's eyes – including Seto – widened in surprise at those words, Jounouchi went on to explain that Marik didn't have a single Monster in his entire deck and all he had to do was bypass the Traps that were set for him and he would be able to deal damage to Marik's Life Points, that was a very risky strategy to attempt due to how varied Trap effects were but it was definitely a plausible one.

"Jounouchi, are you sure about that? You have already fallen deep into my Trap Hell," Marik responded. Jounouchi was surprised at this reaction but there was clearly something that Marik had a trick hidden up his sleeve in regards to his deck. "Just like you said, my deck is made up mostly of Magic and Trap cards. But what if there exists a Trap card that could take the **place** of a Monster card, if that were true then my deck would truly be unbeatable, with none of the weaknesses you speak of," Marik revealed. All of us were surprised by this, the others since they never heard of such a card whereas me and Kylie knew that Trap Monsters were **incredibly** rare; Marik revealed that Jounouchi had activated the Trap card causing three Trap Monsters to be summoned and all were Embodiment of Apophis.

**Embodiment of Apophis – Attribute: Earth, Type: Reptile, Level: 4, ATK/1600, DEF/1800 (X3)**

"He summoned three monsters at **once**?" Jounouchi questioned. Things had gone from bad to worse and Marik's God card wasn't even on the field.


	27. Chapter 27

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback, or something in another language.**

**I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 27: - The Inherited Card

The three newly summoned Trap Monsters writhed on the field like the ancient snake god they were named after as they loomed over Jounouchi ready to strike the blonde the moment that Marik commanded it and thanks to Jounouchi's earlier blunder regarding Judgement of Anubis, he didn't have many Life Points to spare and if all three of Mark's attacks got through then that might as well be it for the blonde.

"A Trap Monster Summon... was that what Marik was waiting for?" Yugi wondered. Katherine added on that the effects of Monster Box would disappear this turn leaving Jounouchi's monsters vulnerable to the attacks, Anzu commented all three attacks would destroy the blonde's monster even though only two attacks would do that whilst the third would rip away most of this Life Points but I decided not to start an argument by correcting the foolish girl.

"No way! Is there anything that can save my brother?!" Shizuka pleaded. Mai stated that setting up a face down card that would be able to counter Marik's move before the end of this turn might be able to save him, however there might not be a likelihood of Jounouchi holding such a card in his hand that would allow him such an opportunity; I shifted my stance as I examined the scenario before me.

"Unless Marik increases one of his Trap Monsters' attack power or it has some effect that deals extra damage or Marik brings out another card to deal more damage, then Jounouchi will have one hundred Life Points left. That means he's got a chance to make a comeback however whether he capitalises on that chance or not is up to him and his cards," I commented. Shizuka frowned at that, her concern for Jounouchi was good but we couldn't help him out of this situation.

"The Duel won't end next turn," Katherine spoke. Everyone looked at my little sister surprised by her words but this wasn't the first time most of us had heard her seemingly prophetic knowledge of a duel's flow; Jounouchi finally made his move and proceeded to set a face down card, we could only hope that it would be able to get the blonde out of this sticky situation that he'd end up walking right into, the blonde also switch Wyvern Warrior to defence which meant he'd have more Life Points by the end of Marik's turn, so long as none of the three possibilities I'd previously mentioned occurred.

"Is that meant to help you somehow avoid my attacks?" Marik questioned. Jounouchi responded that it would help him and I was curious as to what card he had set that could possibly help him out. "It's my turn. You had best prepare yourself Jounouchi. Embodiments of Apophis, three way attack!" Marik declared. Yugi called out to his friend, worry about what would happen to the blonde colouring his tone deeply.

"Now! Reverse card open!" Jounouchi declared. The card was the Magic card Scapegoat which summoned four tokens onto the field that would act as shields protecting the other monster from attacks, Jounouchi explained what the card did causing Honda and Mai to cheer as he'd avoid the damage now but Marik was quick to shoot that down as he revealed the Counter Trap, Magic Jammer which disabled Jounouchi's card when Marik discarded a card in his hand; this allowed all three monsters to attack, destroying Wyvern Warrior, Rocket Warrior and dealing damage to Jounouchi's Life Points.

**Jounouchi – LP: 1900 – LP: 1800**

**Jounouchi – LP: 1800 – LP: 200**

As the others called out to the blonde in panic, Jounouchi slumped to his knees, making it clear that he hadn't expected so many backfires during the course of this Duel but it was clear that Marik was a skilled duelist which meant the rest of us would have to be on our toes if Marik won this Duel and any of us ended up facing him next; Marik stated that Jounouchi couldn't defeat him with the blonde gritting his teeth in response yet his eyes were blank showing that his fighting spirit might have been broken.

The others were worried about what was going to happen especially Shizuka who out right asked Honda if her brother couldn't win, when the brunette didn't answer the girl Mai stated that it was very unlikely and reminded the auburn haired girl that she'd already been told how cruel dueling was that that Shizuka couldn't turn away from the reality before her; although the blonde vixen did state that Jounouchi could still fight until the bitter end.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," I commented. Everyone looked at me no doubt confused by my words and probably a tad angry as well but I wasn't going to mince my words or lie about facts I'd noticed. "Jounouchi's spirit has been smashed. Unless he pulls himself together then he can't and shouldn't continue this Duel," I added. As if responding to my words Jounouchi proceeded to lift his hand and move it towards his deck, making his intentions clear to all those watching the events and Mai surged forward as a result.

"Jounouchi! I have something to tell you before you surrender!" Mai called. The blonde vixen's words causing the boy to stop his movements implying he was listening even as his eyes stayed cast down. "A winning duelist has to take responsibility!" Mai stated. Jounouchi looked at the woman and proceeded to repeat the last word confused by Mai's admission. "All the duelist who lost to you, Insector Haga, Esper Roba and Ryota Kajiki... if it was them fighting in your place, what do you think they would do?" Mai asked. Her words seemed to be taking root in the blonde's mind as he looked up to the sky. "What would they think if they saw you like this? Of course maybe you shouldn't care about those who lost, but you inherit the loser's dream along with your own! This is the fate of someone who wants to win. It is what makes a **real** duelist who they are! If you don't mind shaming them, then place your hand on your deck," Mai finished her speech.

"Big brother! You can do it big brother! You worked so hard, for yourself and your friends and for **me** as well. If I didn't have you by my side, I would have been too scared to have my surgery, I wouldn't have been able to take off the bandage either! If I didn't have you big brother... I would still be wandering in the darkness! You've continued to fight and given me the light I need to live," Shizuka called. The auburn haired girl was certainly impressive, to have such optimistic strength and kindness but her nearly going blind might have made her cultivate these traits to survive almost losing her sight.

"Gave you light... while you wandered in darkness..." Marik spoke. He then gazed up to the sky were the clouds swirled above us before looking back at Shizuka with a soft gleam in his eyes yet the girl remained oblivious to this observation as she continued to encourage her brother to stand up. "Jounouchi, will you answer one question for me before the end arrives?" Marik asked. That caused my eyes to widen in shock as I'd expected that to be phrased more as demand than a polite question, Jounouchi turned back to face his opponent. "What did you seek by fighting in this Battle City tournament?" Marik questioned.

"There's a reason I must fight no matter what. To keep my **promise** with him! I've met all kinds of people on my journey to this point... and I fought them," Jounouchi admitted. As he spoke the light and determination returned to his eyes as he raised his hand and clenched it into a fist. "That's enough of an answer! Now I've got something to say to **you**! Take back that 'before the end' crap! I haven't lost yet!" Jounouchi declared. I let out a sigh of relief seeing that the blonde had managed to get back his courage with the others proceeded to cheer upon seeing this.

Jounouchi declared that he would continue to fight for those he had defeated yet didn't give up when facing him, he also thanked Mai, Shizuka and Yugi for snapping him back but then Marik proceeded to state Jounouchi could do no more and went on to ask if having the courage to accept defeat wasn't also a part of being a true duelist, at that moment Yugi's Millennium Puzzle glowed and it faded to reveal Yami standing there.

"Jounouchi-kun," Yami called. The blonde turned to look at his friend and rival probably wondering what he would say. "Something you can see, yet not see," Yami spoke. It seemed quaint that he would speak the words of advice he'd given to Jounouchi in his first duel in a tournament here, Jounouchi nodded his head and gave a positive response in understanding; Jounouchi turned to Marik and stated that he refused to given up even though he had a low chance of winning, he would struggle on this path with his deck no matter what, Jounouchi then drew his card, he set two face downs and summoned Swordsman of Landstar in defence mode.

**Swordsman of Landstar – Attribute: Earth, Type: Warrior, Level: 3, ATK/500, DEF/1200**

This was a smart move as Landstar would absorb the first attack with no loss of Life Points and one of his face downs could do something to end the remaining two snakes, I mentally sent a brief question to Katherine who shook her head in response making it known that Marik's coming turn wasn't going to end the Duel either, Marik didn't immediately make his move and instead cast his eyes down to us again before looking back at the blonde.

"If my prey so desires, I shall destroy you in a flash! Oh Embodiments of Apophis! Eliminate the enemy!" Marik commanded. The serpents slithered forward but Jounouchi used that opportunity to activate his Magic card which was Foolish Burial which sent one card from **your** deck to your **opponent's** graveyard which serious confused me; up until the knucklehead activated his second face down which was the card Graverobber that let the controller take a card from the opponent's graveyard meaning Jounouchi could reclaim the card he'd given Marik and bring it straight to the field.

"And the Monster I call to the field is...," Jounouchi started. He'd previously revealed the card had been a Monster and an image of it appeared in the hands of the cackling little robber but its' back was to us meaning we couldn't see the Monster's identity yet. "Come out, Psycho Shocker!" Jounouchi announced. The card had begun to glow slightly before it was flipped over and the bald robotic creature emerged onto the field whilst my mouth proceeded to openly slightly in surprise whilst Katherine let out a surprised gasp.

**Android – Psycho Shocker – Attribute: Dark, Type: Machine, Level: 6, ATK/2400, DEF/1500**

"Well ship me to Egypt and called me a princess... he had **that** card in his deck. He might just win," I acknowledged. A surprised and hope filled 'Really!' came from Shizuka and she proceeded to dash in front of me and she grabbed my hands with hope shining in her eyes. "Yes, Jounouchi **could** win thanks to having Psycho Shocker out due to its effect. **But** he could also **lose**, we'll only know when it's done," I answered. Shizuka nodded her head to show she had heard me and proceeded to step to the side so that we could continue watching the Duel.

"Impossible! You summoned a seven star monster in little to no time at all!" Marik exclaimed. It was rather satisfying seeing the calm expression on the psycho's face change into something else for the first time during the Duel; things were only going to get worse for him when Jounouchi revealed that Psycho Shocker's effect allowed it to disable and destroy **Trap** cards and he stated that the Apophis monsters had come from Trap cards. "Oh no!" Marik exclaimed. Jounouchi activated the creature's Special Effect which destroyed the three snakes and everyone cheered for the blonde's success in overcoming the Trap Hell.

"**Now** what are you going to do? Your strategy won't work on me anymore!" Jounouchi announced. Marik was certainly in a difficult spot as Jounouchi rightly pointed out that Psycho Shocker was essentially poison for the Egyptian man's Trap based deck, Marik was forced to end his turn so Jounouchi took over. "My turn! I summon Grappling Warrior Ultimator in attack mode," Jounouchi announced. Another monster was brought onto the field to giving the blonde more firepower to take Marik down.

**Grappling Warrior Ultimator – Attribute: Earth, Type: Warrior, Level: 3, ATK/700, DEF/1000**

"And I switch Swordsman of Landstar to attack mode!" Jounouchi continued. With all three of his monsters primed to attack the person opposing him that mean that Jounouchi was set to make his next move. "Let's go Psycho Shocker, direct attack! Cyber Energy Shock!" Jounouchi commanded. A ball of crackling energy was shot out by the mechanical being and straight into Marik with the other two monsters swiftly following up the attack.

**Marik – LP: 4000 – LP: 2600**

**Marik – LP: 2600 – LP: 900**

**Marik – LP: 900 – LP: 400**

"He did it! Now Marik's life has been greatly reduced!" Anzu stated. Mai, Honda and Shizuka also added in their hopeful sentiments about the end of this Duel coming soon but I wasn't about to breathe easy until Marik Life Points dropped to zero since to me as long as he still had points then he'd be able to Summon out the third God Card and from their tense expressions, Yami and Katherine were right with me; Jounouchi claimed that his triple attack was revenge for the Triple Apophis attack from earlier in the Duel.

"That was an impressive comeback, Jounouchi..." Marik complimented. Jounouchi seemed surprised by those words but I could hardly blame him since I was surprised by the words that had been spoken. "Despite being almost out of Life Points, you showed your pride as a Duelist by standing up to me," Marik continued. I stared at the man completely stunned by the words that were being spoken as it completely contrasted all of the times Marik had spoken through a puppet.

"_Um... Kylie, I'm beginning to think that might not be Marik,_" Katherine's voice spoke in my mind. Glancing down at my sister who kept her dark eyes locked on the Duel as Jounouchi ranted at Marik, I found that I had to agree as the uncertain feeling I'd been getting, concerning Marik had only increased throughout this duel; I sent a message of agreement to my sister and returned my full attention to the Duel as the Egyptian man drew his card.

However he didn't immediately make a move and instead remained still with his eyes cast down towards us causing me to press my teeth against my bottom lips as I attempted to understand why he kept looking at us throughout the Duel, Marik eventually returned his attention to the Duel by activating the Magic card Sealing Swords of Light thus blocking Jounouchi from finishing the Duel on his next turn and two more after that which meant Marik had a chance to make a comeback and possibly win the duel.

When Mai stated that the Magic cards covered for the Traps weaknesses, Yami spoke up claiming that so long as Psycho Shocker was on Jounouchi's field he would be able to disable the Trap and prevent himself from taking damage in that fashion, Marik proceeded to end his turn so Jounouchi took over; the blonde stated he still intended to Summon more Monsters and did just as promised by Releasing Ultimator in order to Summon out The Legendary Fisherman in defence mode and he then switched his other two monsters to defence.

**The Legendary Fisherman – Attribute: Water, Type: Warrior, Level: 5, ATK/1850, DEF/1600**

That was the best plan given that it would prevent any monsters that could be hidden in Marik's deck from causing damage to his Life Points so long as they remained in that position, Marik drew his card but the moment he saw it, his eyes widened and I swear that he went just a tad pale which immediately set me on edge and I tried to feel the spirit of that card only to suck in a sharp breath as blazing and fierce rage pounded into my mind and it forced me to take a step backwards.

"Kylie," A strong voice called. I had to blink myself back to reality as I looked in the voice's direction finding it was Yami who had a concerned expression on his face and a hand on my shoulder, looking down I saw that Katherine was gripping my hand with panic clear on her face, the others were also looking at me with worry clear to see, including Anzu surprisingly. "Is everything alright?" Yami asked. I looked at the ancient spirit as I managed to regain my senses slightly enabling me to shake my head lightly.

"I think... a dangerous card is about to come into play," I answered. Yami's face paled at my words as we proceeded to focus back on the Duel with Marik having remained still during our conversation; Jounouchi pushed Marik to act and he did by setting a card face down however I noticed that he stuttered at the beginning of his sentence suddenly a tingling came to my mind so I closed my eyes to enter my Soul Room.

_***Yu-Gi-Oh***_

_My Soul Room was elegant with a four poster queen sized bed covered in silver bedding with red embroidery, fine jewellery and magnificent clothing from a different era of time hung in a closet whilst books of stories and magic were crammed into a bookcase beside my bed, a silver wood vanity stand lay to the side but there was a strange crest carved into it which matched the crest on the underside of my bracelet so I never looked at it for long._

_Moving to a blank wall I proceeded to draw a door way whilst muttering a spell as I thought about Katherine, a doorway connecting me to her mind appear so I opening it a rushed inside with my sister waiting by the door connecting her to Yugi and she pulled it open allowing us to dash through until we came to the young boy's room of course he was waiting in the corridor between him and Yami's Soul Room and he smile brightly upon seeing us._

"_Thank you for coming Kylie-san, Katherine-chan. Me and My Other Self are concerned about the sarcophagus at the top of the Temple. There's something strange about it," Yugi spoke up. Exchanging a quick look of agreement that we shared the boy's sentiments concerning that strange box and I turned back to look at the two individuals with a grave look on my face._

"_Our mum's archaeological work involved finding tombs and temples like that. Those kinds of sarcophagi often hold treasures of Royal families, that card is based on such things meaning the sarcophagus has to have some effect," I admitted. The look on each of the boys' face different with Yugi looking deeply worried whilst Yami's stoic face creased with tension as a flood of scenarios dashed across his mind. _

"_Kylie, what did you mean earlier?" Katherine asked. Looking at my sister, I saw the worried expression on her face and wondered briefly if she hadn't sensed the immense anger that had been roaring from that card, if so it was a rather terrifying fact that the Gods could mask themselves from one of us… or her Gods had protected her, glancing at Yami and Yugi I saw that they also looked concerned about my sensing a dangerous card so I drew in a deep breath. _

"_I sensed deep, fuming rage from the card and I'm worried. Ra was the sun god in the Egyptian pantheon and I definitely felt fire from that card, I think it might have been Marik's God card," I revealed. Worried wouldn't have been an even half way decent word to describe the expression my three person audience wore, abject terror might be the nearest approximate description of their feelings._

_***Yu-Gi-Oh***_

We all returned to the physical plane in time to hear Jounouchi yell at Marik to either get on with or end his turn, I knew all of us were immeasurably worried about how well the blonde would do if he came face to face with such a dangerous creature those beasts were as strong as my Guardians which meant they were capable of inflicting real damage as Osiris had proven but the rage I'd felt from that card was immense and practically a drowning force.

"No, I have not declared its' end. I seal one card away in the sarcophagus of the temple," Marik responded. The field magic slot popped out and he slid the chosen card – the one he'd just draw – into the slot causing a hologram of the card to appear above the sarcophagus just like it did with Graverobber before the card sank into the stone rectangle, in response to this move me, Katherine and Yami exchanged worried looks. "**Now** I end my turn," Marik stated. If that was Ra then Jounouchi was going to be trapped in a tight – almost inescapable – situation.

Jounouchi started his turn by drawing a card from his deck and immediately activated it revealing that it was Resurrection of the Dead to bring back Wyvern Warrior to the field causing me to wonder what the blonde was up to, that was clarified when Jounouchi swiftly Released the lizard creature and Swordsman of Landstar in order to Summon Insect Queen in defence mode; all three were capable and rare monsters which meant he must have won then from the three duelist that he'd managed to defeat in order to reach his current place, although only Psycho Shocker seemed to fit well into Jounouchi's deck.

**Insect Queen – Attribute: Earth, Type: Insect, Level: 7, ATK/2200, DEF/2400**

On Jounouchi's next turn the Sealing Swords would fade away allowing to him to attack and with no monsters currently out that left Marik with quite the sticky situation, unless he could Summon enough monsters to protect himself or bring out Ra thanks to sealing it within the sarcophagus and I'd rather not see that God card until quite a while later, preferably under Yami's control when that occurred; when Jounouchi brought up this fact Marik swiftly cut it down by declaring he wouldn't be touched by Jounouchi's monsters.

Marik revealed the sealed card was safe from all harm and the Sealing Swords had simply been a delay until Marik was able to prepare a ritual, apparently his three gathered cards would be able to Summon out the temple's guardian, Marik activated a card from his hand which was the Magic card Cup of Sealed Soul and his face down which was another Magic card known as Seal of Serket and activated the Temple of the Royal Family.

"When I gather these three Magic cards together, I can Summon the Mystical Beast who protects the secret of the altar!" Marik announced. As purple smoke spewed from the eye marked cup, Jounouchi repeated the title that Marik had given this creature he was making sound rather fearsome. "That's right! The guardian of the temple! The Scorpion God that shall devour your monsters! Show your glorious form before us! I summon the Holy Beast Serket!" Marik announced. Everyone began to panic as Katherine gripped my hand which I returned as the red armoured scorpion beast appeared crouched on the temple steps.

**Holy Beast Serket – Attribute: Earth, Type: Fairy/Ritual, Level: 6, ATK/2500, DEF/2000**

Jounouchi was also freaking out about the creature's appearance with Marik claiming that it protected the sacred card within the sarcophagus causing my eyes to widen and Jounouchi also latched onto that phrasing and began to ask its' identity – the way Marik treated them confirmed that he would only see three cards in such a light – Marik then vocally confirmed out fears, the sealed card was indeed his God card, the Winged Divine Dragon of Ra.

It was official, thing just got **a whole lot** worse.


	28. Chapter 28

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback, or something in another language.**

**By the way, since I was lazy last week and unloaded nothing there will be another chapter out tomorrow as an apology. Thank you for the review from Guest and no problem about updating my story. I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 28: - Summon The Winged Divine Dragon of Ra

This was definitely not good, I didn't know what would come of Ra being sealed within that sarcophagus but with it having been brought into play I was more unnerved now than at any point prior during this duel; aside from that little fact, there was that monstrous red scaled beast towering over Marik with its' wicked looking pinchers threatening to tear into Jounouchi's monsters.

"Holy Beast Serket is only a demi-god who protects the **true god** within the shrine!" Marik declared. Jounouchi was frozen stock still having heard Marik's words as he was no doubt panicking slightly about going up against a God card, especially after seeing the kind of power that Yugi and Yami's card had; Anzu commented that Jounouchi had tried so hard to push Marik into a corner, but that might have been what convinced him to bring Ra into the game.

"Yami-san, is there anything my brother can do to win this?" Shizuka asked. Yami bluntly admitted that the monsters that Jounouchi had out wouldn't be able to defeat Serket but did admit that Jounouchi had to think fast in order to avoid losing all of his monsters to the scorpion beast, add on to the fact that we didn't know what kind of special effects the creature possessed and Jounouchi had to think really fast.

"By the way Yugi, Kylie… that ark, the one the Winged Divine Dragon of Ra is in…," Mai started. The three of them alongside myself looked at the sarcophagus, possessing the final God card meant that this man was Marik… but then why did something still feel amiss, the more I looked at Marik then the more I felt like he **couldn't **be Marik, there was simply something about the man currently dueling that didn't fit with what I knew about the madman.

Once more Marik glanced down to look at us before turning back to the duel and he announced that Serket was unable to attack this turn which meant Jounouchi had to make the most of his next turn if he wanted to get rid of that beast and protect against the God card that was waiting for him; Jounouchi drew his card and his lack of a poker face showed he hadn't drawn a card to help him out of the situation.

"All my monsters go to defence mode! And my turn's over!" Jounouchi announced. With those words the Sealing Swords proceeded to blink out of existence, Mai commented that he had an opportunity to fight back now but he didn't possess a monster strong enough so we had to wait until that opportunity arrived; but until then it left him at the mercy of Marik's bestial minion.

The next move was anticipated as Marik ordered Serket to attack Psycho Shocker, the mechanical humanoid was seized in Serket's massive claws and proceeded to devour – literally devour – the monster; Jounouchi was stumped by the action whilst the rest of us recoiled slightly upon witnessing the spectacle, I actually felt a little sickly upon watching this occurrence and pressed a hand to my mouth.

"Ah… now that's revolting," Kylie complained. Glancing at my big sister I noticed that she looked a tad paler than usual, not that anyone could blame her since everyone – even Yami and Seto – looked to be unsettled; Marik did comment that whilst it was a unpleasant sight, that was how Serket's Special effect activated and this effect allowed Serket to take **half **of the devoured monster's **attack points **and **add it** to **its' own attack**.

**Holy Beast Serket – ATK/2500 – ATK/3700**

Because of the new addition to its' strength the eye symbol on the creature flashed slightly and the scorpion proceeded to stand on its' hind legs with more spikes emerging across its' surface, Anzu and Mai quickly caught on that the more Serket attacked then the more powerful it became; which meant that if Jounouchi didn't find some way to destroy the creature soon it would be too powerful to stop.

This was a dangerous pinch that Jounouchi was in at the moment as he drew a card from his deck to look at it, I sucked in a breath as I hoped that this card would be able to get him out of trouble; such a thing didn't come to pass as I practically deflated upon hearing those words, Jounouchi proceeded to pass his turn.

Once more Marik had Serket attack with the being the Insect Queen – with Marik calling it a sacrifice – and once more we were forced to watch one monster devour another, it was a sickening sight to behold with several of us turning away or closing our eyes to avoid the sight until that dreadful crunching and screaming sound mixture faded away; I looked back and found that Serket had grown insect wings that were styled like a bat.

**Holy Beast Serket – ATK/3700 – ATK/4900**

Mai and Anzu began to encourage Jounouchi to stay strong despite how desperate this situation was becoming, however Shizuka had finally reached the end of her rope as she declared that she couldn't watch anymore and the auburn haired girl started to run away from the duel, all of us stared after the girl unable to find the strength to stop her.

"Don't you run, Shizuka! Look at me!" Jounouchi called out. His words did cause the girl to stop her retreat as she proceeded to turn around to look at her brother. "I might lose this, but… I want you to watch until the end! You found light in the deep darkness, a light called **courage**," Jounouchi spoke. At those words I saw Marik's eyes widen as if what the blonde had said struck a chord with the Egyptian man. "So, no matter what happens, don't you run back there!" Jounouchi encouraged. Shizuka agreed to those words and she moved over to stand by us once more but my attention was focused on Marik.

His eyes had changed, the cold indifference that was placed over his eyes had turned warm and saddened, almost as if he was reliving a memory that was both happy and sad; this man was not as cruel and sadistic as Marik appeared to be through his puppets, that was what further increased my suspicions of the man's true identity and his continual looking down to our location didn't help matters.

Thanks to that glancing I had managed to figure out that the person he was looking at was Namu, which deepened my own suspicions about the boy being connected to this entire mess of the Ghouls; looking back at the man I saw his eyes had a faraway look in them, almost like he was reliving a memory of some distant time and there was great pain within that memory from the look in his eyes.

"_Katherine-chan… me and My Other Self have been speaking and…,_" Yugi's voice came. It was comforting to feel his presence brushing against my own through our connection but his words did cause a small amount of worry to burst to life inside of me, although I already had my suspicions about what he was going to say. "_… we believe that the man currently dueling, isn't actually Marik_," Yugi finished.

"_You're not the only one. There is something about him that simply doesn't fit with what we've experienced,_" I admitted. Yugi wasn't surprised by the revelation of my own suspicions about the man claiming to be our enemy and I felt him leaving my mind, but I decided to impart my other suspicion to him before he could do so. "_Yugi, I believe that Namu is the one who our suspicions should turn towards now_," I stated. As he left I felt the shock yet understanding of my words rush through Yugi and in the physical plane I noticed Yami's eyes dart to Namu with a dark look in them.

There was nothing we could do now, whether it concerned helping Jounouchi win this duel or about confronting Namu regarding our suspicions, however that didn't mean that I enjoyed being forced to stand by and watch my friend being forced into such a difficult situation, I wrung my hands together and focused on the man pretending to be Marik who still seemed to be lost within his own mind.

I pressed my teeth against my lip and wondered if I should attempted to pry into the man's mind; it was an intrusion of privacy and I didn't like doing such a thing but given everything that was currently happening perhaps it would help me answer some of the numerous questions that were currently running through my mind; besides if he really was the enemy then knowing more about him wouldn't hurt.

Just as I began to raise my Millennium Gauntlet clad hand to point at 'Marik' a hand clamped on my shoulder causing me to jump slightly as I turned to see that Kylie had knelt down next to me with an angry light shining in her eyes, I ended up bowing my head as I began to fiddle with the edge of my cardigan hoping that Kylie would eventually stand back up or at least that she wouldn't pry into my intentions.

"_I thought you were better than that Katherine. Prying into someone's mind is an intrusion of privacy and the utmost abuse of our power. Plus if __**that**__ really is Marik then going into his head isn't something I want you to do. Who knows what horror he's done_," Kylie lambasted in English. I felt the others looking at us in confusion probably wondering what the two of us were talking about; I looked into my sister's green eyes as my lips pressed tightly against each other.

"_Sorry sis, I guess I just wanted to do __**something**__ and got carried away with myself. I don't feel right just standing here and doing nothing to help him out_," I admitted. Kylie smiled gently as she settled a hand atop my head as a way to comfort me and show that whilst she was angry at my reckless action, she wasn't totally mad about my attempt since she knew that I already regretted doing it.

"_Just don't do it again_," Kylie stated. She then ruffled my hair causing me to swipe at her hands as she chuckled whilst standing back to her full height and I turned my attention back to the duel which still hadn't move on from the paused scene that it had been when I felt into my musings, I was admittedly a little annoyed that neither duelist had made any move in the few minutes that had elapsed but I was also glad since that meant I hadn't missed anything during my thoughts.

Once more 'Marik's' eyes fell down to where Namu stood before he closed them and once the eyes were opened, they were focused back on his opponent; whatever my suspicions were, there was definitely a connection present between the two of them and that could spell an immense amount of trouble down the road if the younger man was in fact the demon we'd been fighting against.

Jounouchi was about to start his turn when 'Marik' called out to the blonde and ordered him to give up on any hopes of defeating the Egyptian, however Jounouchi didn't listen to the man and instead passed his turn, implying he didn't have anything that could help him on his turn, that meant that Serket was about to become even more powerful by devouring Legendary Fisherman.

"You... despite the situation, you intend to continue dueling?" 'Marik' asked. Jounouchi claimed that his words were insulting and whilst it may indeed be useless to continue fighting, but Jounouchi had something that he had to accomplish and he intended to keep fighting until his Life Points hit zero, that was the kind of fighting spirit that one needed to possess during duel… no matter how grave the situation they were in.

"I respect you spirit," 'Marik' admitted. If I hadn't suspected the man of not being Marik already then that admittance would have cinched it for me, because Marik **would never** say those words nor would he **ever** have thought that and actively manipulated such a person; the way Marik had spoken through his puppets had implied as such with every sentence that he saw us as little more that annoyances, tools to be used or targets to get be rid of for his sick desire for misguided vengeance.

"Yugi, I'm sure you know. No matter how hard Jounouchi may try to turn this situation around… this is just one match Jounouchi can't turn around. Jounouchi can't win this duel," Mai admitted. It was cruel words for the woman to speak but she was a practical woman, however my sister proceeded to shake her head causing the blonde vixen to look at the red haired woman.

"Not yet… Jounouchi will still have a turn left after this one, that card could turn things around," Kylie commented. Yami smiled and then told Mai to look at the blonde boy, he wasn't wavering and wasn't worried about what was going to come, he was staring straight ahead at his opponent completely calm and confident which shocked Mai completely. "No matter the obstacles that arise during a duel, a duelist **cannot** lose their fighting spirit or they've already lost," Kylie stated.

"Those are the eyes of someone prepared for anything!" Yami stated. As the two duelists stared each other down, the tension began to thicken over quite rapidly cause Mai to slightly exclaim when she felt it baring down upon us. "That's right. The tension on this battlefield reflects both of their duelist's pride. They are both honoured they met each other," Yami stated.

"That shared fighting spirit is flooding across the entire field, until one of their Life Points hits zero or they run out of cards, this duel **will not** end because they **will not **stop fighting until the very end," I added on. 'Marik' made his move by drawing a card and ordering Serket to attack Jounouchi's remaining monster, it removed the human from the fish and devoured each separately causing me to flinch back slightly; Serket's appearance changed as it grew bigger and the stinger was replaced by a finned tail.

**Holy Beast Serket – ATK/4900 – ATK/5825 **

"Now Jounouchi it's your turn. Your **last **one, that is," 'Marik' stated. Whether he knew it or not, the imposter was correct because on 'Marik's' next turn then this duel was going to end yet for some reason an unsettled feeling was burning into my bones and my eyes drifted up to the sarcophagus that held Ra and I felt a shiver crawl across my body, so I wrapped my arms around myself to provide some semblance of warmth.

"There's nothing I can do, turn over!" Jounouchi announced. All of us were upset at this with Kylie clenching her fists tightly but I simply wrapped my arms around me even tighter than before. "What you can see, but can't see. I got a funny feeling… a little while ago, I reached the point where I was resigned to losing…and just then, when winning and losing didn't matter, it's like I saw something I couldn't see before. Why didn't I figure it out sooner? Must have been the heat of battle… Marik brainwashed me. He forced me to fight my friend in a duel to the death, a pointless battle that only hurt our hearts. I can't forgive the bastard who set up that duel and forced us to fight!" Jounouchi commented.

"Then go ahead and **curse** me. But a match is different, that anger is not enough to defeat me," 'Marik' stated. This man was certainly a good actor as he was easily able to respond to negative emotions and accusations being thrown at him without being shocked or surprised or even breaking his calm exterior, that certainly implied that there was a close connection between this man and the man whom he was impersonating.

"That's not what I'm trying to say!" Jounouchi protested. I didn't know exactly where the blonde was going with this train of speech but I had my suspicions about it. "When this duel started, I really hated your guts. But I've lost that hatred now and I tried to remember… how terrible it felt when that bastard took over my mind and implanted his memory. But you didn't use any cheap tricks and fought me fair and square! I may lose to you… but while fighting against you in this duel, it became one of the best I've had! You're the real deal! You're a True Duelist! I may not know your reasons, but I do know one thing. You aren't the guy who did that before. You **aren't **Marik!" Jounouchi declared.

A shocked expression crossed the imposter's face, with Seto vocalising his own surprise at this turn of events with Mai openly asking where the real Marik was and in response to that, Yami along with me and Kylie proceeded to turn our gazes onto Namu as he had swiftly move to the prime suspect of our list about who could be Marik and his angered expression certainly didn't help matters.

"What utter **bullshit**!" 'Marik' snapped. He had reached behind him and proceeded to pull out the Millennium Rod which was pointed at Jounouchi. "This Millennium Rod **is proof **that I am Marik. This duel shall continue as I have foreseen and **no one** listens to the words of a **loser**!" 'Marik' declared. He was actually angry about his deception having been seen through, that meant he must have had a close connection to Marik that spurred these strong feelings of loyalty; 'Marik' put the item away and drew his card. "Finish him off, Holy Beast of Serket! Direct attack Jounouchi!" 'Marik' ordered.

The titanic creature proceeded to stomp towards the blonde prepared to destroy what remained of the blonde's meagre Life Points yet he didn't even flinch as the wickedly sharp pinchers reached out towards him; Yami, Shizuka and Mai called out to the man but there was no way their words would stop the coming attack…

Suddenly, the pinchers stopped just as it reached the blonde's neck.

"Oh boy!" Kylie exclaimed. My jaw tightened as I look at the scene before me, a twisted feeling rising within my stomach. "Something's wrong," Kylie stated. Looking at the sarcophagus in the temple, I had a fairly good idea about what was about to happen.


	29. Chapter 29

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback, or something in another language.**

**I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 29: - Ra's Anger

Tense silence hung over us as I kept my eyes firmly focused on 'Marik' waiting to see why he had suddenly stopped his attack despite the obvious fact that he was going to win; as I watched him I saw that he appeared to be conflicted about something but then 'Marik' proceeded to bring his Millennium Rod forward which caused me muscles to tense as I shot Yami a worried look which he returned.

"This turn, I shall prove that I am a wielder of the God Cards," 'Marik' claimed. I felt a nauseous feeling begin to rise from my stomach at those words, I wasn't the only one as the other spectators began to panic slightly with Katherine gripping my hand tightly. "Right now, the God Card is resting in the Holy Sarcophagus. I must sacrifice Mythical Beast Serket and half of my Life Points to open the lid. But the moment I do, the Winged Divine Dragon of Ra will be summoned to the field," 'Marik' explained.

Yami repeated the name of the God card whilst I gritted my teeth together, if the Egyptian Gods were anything like Katherine and mine then that meant this card was **the** most powerful as in Egyptian Mythology Ra was the **most** powerful of their pantheon; 'Marik' then proceeded to turn around and extended his Millennium Rod to the sarcophagus hiding the God and announced the sacrifices to it.

**Marik – LP: 400 – LP: 200**

As that announcement was made the sarcophagus began to glow green and Serket was destroyed into fragments, 'Marik' then began to chant as he summoned the God Card forth, I noticed that Seto looked excited about seeing the third God which nearly made me want to throw something at him given that this wasn't something to be happy about, but given our current altitude and the lack of anything disposal, that prevented me from doing so.

The sarcophagus glowed different colours before reflections of it proceeded to move side to side and then the lid opened up, from within the sarcophagus rose a glowing card; the light flashed off of it revealing a golden winged beast briefly before a massive wall of green light proceeded to engulf its' form which shot into the sky as the wall of green expanded to the width of the temple.

A shadow appeared, one I was far too familiar with as this shadow had appeared within my dreams for several months now which caused a cold sweat to drip down my face as lightning flashed overhead; as 'Marik' urged the monster to appear flames burst to life from within the clouds as the winged beast proceeded to descend down to the field.

I felt my breath actually hitch within my throat as I stared at the brilliant creature with its' flames waving out across the field, everyone seemed to be in awe of the creature that had descended before us; however there was something strange about the appearance of this god when I compared it to the two times I'd seen Osiris and the unknown one from before Yami faced Pandora, perhaps it was a difference between the Gods but I couldn't be sure.

**Winged Divine Dragon of Ra – Attribute: Divine, Type: Divine-Beast, Level: 10, ATK/?, DEF/?**

"Ordinarily, it takes three sacrifices to summon a god. Ra's attack and defence points are… determined by the total attack and defence points of the three sacrificed Monsters. But Serket had absorbed Psycho Shocker, Insect Queen and The Legendary Fisherman, totalling in three Monsters. Therefore, my servant, the Winged Divine Dragon of Ra, has attack and defence points totalling those three Monster's attack and defence points. It has five thousand, eight hundred and fifty two attack points. Jounouchi, you only have two hundred Life Points remaining. When the God attacks this turn, your loss is guaranteed!" 'Marik' explained.

**Winged Divine Dragon of Ra – ATK/? – ATK/5852, DEF/? – DEF/2000**

"Well… this just got a whole lot worse," I spoke. My tone was partially strangled from the situation Jounouchi was stuck in, these Gods were far more powerful than most Monsters and the damage they dealt seemed to be **very** real and that caused me to worry about how Jounouchi was going to fair against such power, especially since he wasn't protected like me, Katherine and Yugi/Yami were.

"There's nothing any of us can do to stop this," Katherine stated. Her hand was tightly gripping mine, yet Jounouchi wasn't upset and instead the blonde simply accepted this fact with calmness; 'Marik' told Jounouchi to prepare himself for the God's attack and he then proceeded to give the order to attack, the fiery bird let out a small cry.

"AH!" I screamed. Collapsing to my knees as I grasped my bracelet with the opposite hand, it felt like the accessory was burning as if it was the heart of a roaring fire; slipping my fingers underneath I tried to pry the object off but it wouldn't even budge an inch. "Something… something's wrong with Ra!" I cried. Tears stung my eyes from the pain as I saw Katherine's glowing Millennium Gauntlet wrap around my bracelet from underneath yet I didn't feel any of her magic, the hand then flipped over to the top of my hand and tried to pull it off.

"What the hell!? It won't cool down or come off!" I heard Katherine exclaim. She had given up trying to pull off the flaming bracelet as she snapped her head up to face 'Marik' who had turned his gaze towards us. "Don't do it! Whatever you do, please don't attack!" Katherine begged. She knew something was wrong, terribly wrong and that if the imposter actually attacked it was going to get worse.

"_You dare! Infidel! Deceiver!_" An enraged voice roared in my mind. The burning feeling from my bracelet only got worse causing a cry of pain to escape me as arms came to rest around me, whilst everyone else was panicking over my condition, along with the fact that Ra wasn't attacking for some reason despite 'Marik' having not ordered it to stop.

"Ra's… disintegrating ?" Katherine questioned. Using my non burning hand to wipe away the tears to see that the winged God was indeed disintegrating which was deeply confusing; that was when the lightning started to strike, it flashed close to the airship and actually struck the dueling platform causing me to start standing up despite the pain even as whoever was helping me up tried to get me to kneel back down.

"Surrender! One of you has to surrender! Ra's angry… very angry! If the duel is stopped, he'll calm down!" I cried out. The pain was getting worse the longer this went on and it was slowly creeping its' way up my arm, despite my cries neither player reacted as 'Marik' was struck by a bolt of lightning – he actually seemed to be willing to accept it from his tilted back head at the time it struck – and the Millennium Rod shattered.

That proved this man wasn't Marik but why he impersonated the man was something that would be unknown to us as the lightning bolt had caused the man to fall unconscious and he collapsed to the ground; Jounouchi attempted to rush across to the man but was stopped by another lightning strike causing Yami and Shizuka to call out to him, but it was in vain as the blonde was struck by a bolt the next second causing him to collapse as well.

"My brother!" Shizuka cried. Honda quickly ran forward and jumped up in an attempt to climb onto the platform in order to check on his friend, however this got him reprimand by Seto's goon simply because the duel technically wasn't over yet despite the fact that both of them were out cold which Honda was kind enough to point out to Isono whilst calling him a dumbass for his earlier words.

"Both duelists have Life Points left. Both duelists must abide by the rules, regardless of the situation! Otherwise they'll both be disqualified!" Isono responded. This really wasn't the time for such things but the blaze I'd been forced to endure when Ra appeared had sapped me off all my energy and I was using the person beside me as a support to keep standing.

"Now isn't the time for this! They were both hit by **lightning**!" Honda protested. I doubted that Isono would listen to anyone except for Seto and I wasn't sure that he would intervene; Seto did speak up but it was to inform Honda that the Solid Vision system wasn't set at a fatal level, of course that lightning wasn't something simulated which Seto didn't seem to realise as he believed it was a mental wound from the flashing lights.

"You do realise that lightning was **real!** Their lives could be in danger Seto! Do something!" Katherine protested. However Seto didn't seem to be listening as when the goon went to declare it a draw he called out stopping him, Seto insisted that we wait five minutes to see if one of them stood up and that person would be the winner of the duel. "Gods damnit! Seto! This is **not** the time!" Katherine snapped. So the others started encouraging our blonde friend to stand up.

"Kylie, are you alright?" Yami's voice asked. I looked over only to see the ancient spirit was the one supporting me in my weakened stated, managing to raise a shaky hand I rocked it from side to side in order to show that I wasn't completely fine but nor was I out of it; mere seconds after that exchange my magical senses caught on to a very peculiar wave of dark energy that was coming from behind us.

"Some… th… ing's wr… ong. Be… hind us," I warned. Yami's ruby eyes widened in uncertainty as he tightened his grip on me before casting a glance back with narrowed eyes but he turned his gaze back to the duel as he was more concerned for his friend at the moment and so I did the same, whatever was wrong could be dealt with once I was certain that my friend was either ok or he was being treated.

The first person to begin rising was the imposter causing Anzu to call out the blonde's name as the Egyptian man claimed that he couldn't afford to fall, Isono began to make the declaration yet he couldn't when the imposter proceeded to collapse back to the floor and as the five minute time limit wasn't up yet, Jounouchi still had a chance to win; that fact was all that was needed for everyone to start encouraging the blonde to get to his feet.

"Jounouchi! You've got to get up! You promised Yami! Remember!" I encouraged. My body might be aching but I could still speak and at the moment that was all that was needed, we had to keep supporting Jounouchi so that he would be reminded of his reasons for getting up; to keep his promise with Yami, to prove himself to Seto and to keep inspiring Shizuka.

Amazingly our words worked as Jounouchi began to rise up, his eyes were still closed but the blonde was making the motions to begin pushing himself up; it was almost like he was sleeping but I was thankful for these events as he eventually rose onto his keep and stood strong on his own legs, that was the moment when his eyes proceeded to open.

Everyone was relieved that Jounouchi had managed to stand up but he appeared to still be half asleep when he asked if this was the City Tournament which caused Mai and Anzu to get annoyed at the boy, honestly I was just glad that he was awake; upon seeing his opponent still on the ground everything seemed to come rushing back to Jounouchi.

"This duel's winner is Jounouchi Katsuya!" Isono announced. Since he'd been unconscious Jounouchi was clearly confused by the announcement although Honda quickly clambered the rest of the way up onto the arena and proceeded to hug the blonde boy; however Jounouchi pulled out of the hug and began walking over to the imposter.

When the arena was returned to the ground Katherine quickly hopped up and ran over to the downed man with Yami helping me to get over to him, Katherine swiftly grabbed his card and looked it over with a focused look on her face as Jounouchi tried to get the Egyptian man to wake up which he actually managed to do.

"Jounouchi… I am… proud… to have fought… against you…," The man admitted. Jounouchi returned the sentiment and Katherine took the opportunity to settle her hand on the man's shoulder causing him to look in her direction and she held up the God Card causing the man's eyes to widen upon seeing it held within her hand.

"Hey, this Ra is fake. That along with your fake Millennium Rod and all of your actions mean you aren't Marik. Why pretend to be him and where is the real one?" Katherine gently asked. The man insisted that we not worry about him and instead begged us to stop Marik as he raised his arm to point at the one responsible for everything… Namu.

Looking at the younger Egyptian I saw that he was tightly gripping his head as he began to scream but clasped in his right hand was the Millennium Rod and I definitely felt the wave of energy that was unique to the Items; eventually his screaming stop and he turned to face us with a dark expression on his face yet I noticed his heavy breathing and the slight sheen of sweat on his face.

"That's right… I am the very Marik you've been fighting this whole time," The boy admitted. Anzu took this opportunity to realise that his time of Namu had to have been an act. "Yugi, that was merely an **alias** to get closer to you guys," Marik admitted. Jounouchi figured out that this must have been the person who was controlling him back when he was forced to duel Yami and Yugi. "I guess you could call it… sacrificing your friends for a better **cause**? A cause that stretches back three thousand years. Yugi in order to destroy you… I will do whatever is necessary," Marik carried on. However on the last part it looked like his face had stretched and his voice ended up distorting as well.

Marik then let out another scream as his hand came up to rest over his face, there was clearly something wrong here and I looked over at Katherine who shook her head clearly stating that she had absolutely no idea about what could be wrong with the sandy blonde individual but at least she knew that this clearly wasn't normal… and that was measuring it by our family's standards.

"Please… stop him," The imposter begged. We looked at him to see that he had reached up to weakly grip Jounouchi's shirt as he made his plea. "Marik-sama's… other…," He kept speaking. However the pain of the lightning strike was clearly hitting him hard making it difficult to stay awake let alone speak; we were confused by the last word he spoke and repeated it. "If I fall… that… **thing **sleeping will gain the power to… awaken… once… again," The imposter warned. However before he could finish he fell into unconsciousness and Marik's screams got even louder causing us to look at him.

Once more Marik's face appeared to stretch and his screams became distorted as a dark and dangerous energy flooded over us so I snap my hand out to grip Katherine's own and my little sister immediately proceeded to return the grip as a look of fear became plastered on her face which had already turned ashen white, I probably wasn't much better if the slight shaking in my body was any indication as the screaming only got worse.

Marik's screams finally stopped as his head was tilted backwards preventing us from being able to see the boy's face but that eerie sensation refused to go away; Marik's hands proceeded to drop and his head fell back down allowing me to see that his hair had become wild in appearance with it sticking out in every direction and on his forehead was the Eye of Wedjet that kept appearing on anything related to the Millennium Items, that caused my nausea to return.

"I **finally **broke free," Marik spoke. His voice was slightly different when he spoke and I noticed that his face stretched once more before returning to normal. "I no longer **need** a shadow… when **he **is around… I am **hidden**…," Marik carried on. Yami had stood up and proceeded to repeat the last word that Marik spoke confusion etching his tone. "Compared to me, the other Marik is a **child**. That is why he can never finish a duel **properly**… he's **afraid** of the darkness… but… I **love** the darkness," Marik commented. His face continued to stretch several times as he spoke.

"Great… so one psycho was hiding another, and this one's even worse," I snarled. This Other Marik proceeded to chuckle at my words as he admitted that everyone of us were shadows in his eyes and that included the person who'd been impersonating him and called him convenient which caused Jounouchi to insult him once again.

"In the duel just now… that man proved something for me. As I expected, the only ones capable of controlling the Gods Card are only those **connected **to the Millennium Items. Isn't that **right **Kaiba?" Other Marik claimed. Seto quickly called the whole thing rubbish and claimed he wasn't interested in the occult nonsense but did admit that Obelisk obeyed him as a loyal servant. "So you **say **Kaiba… but perhaps your memories **also **stretch back three thousand years. Of course the pretty Consort can also control them," Other Marik responded. His gaze focused on me so I quickly flipped the bastard off in response to his words.

"Forget it… we'll find the answers soon enough," Other Marik commented. This guy was seriously creeping me out with what he was seeming to imply with every word he spoke. "Yugi, the **real** Millennium Battle has finally begun… we are headed for the **true **darkness… and none of us can turn back," Other Marik insisted. At that moment sharp footsteps came from behind and I looked to see a woman dressed in azurite blue clothing in Egyptian style that covered her face standing there with an angry look in her teal eyes as Other Marik smirked at her.

"I always keep hoping she'll be wrong," The woman growled. She then bent down in order to loop the imposter's arm around her shoulder with her eyes softening immediately. "You did well Rishid," She added. Standing up she almost toppled over but Jounouchi quickly helped her by supporting the man on the other side. "Thank you, please let's go to his room, we can speak there," The woman requested. Jounouchi nodded and the two walked off with the unconscious man.

With one last glare at Other Marik from each of us we proceeded to tail after the mystery woman who had to be one of the missing duelists.


	30. Chapter 30

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback, or something in another language.**

**Thank you to randomguy77 and Guest(s) for your reviews, I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 30: - Duel of Darkness

We had fifteen minutes before the next duel came so we followed the azurite clad woman to the infirmary room where she lay down the man she'd called Rishid allowing the doctor to tend to him before she stepped back and proceeded to remove the dressings around her head; this revealed the red hair, teal eyes and facial features belonging to the Rare Hunter Azurite.

"Figured you were here when I ran into Rhodonite after Yugi's duel," Kylie simply stated. Me and Yami had flinched back upon seeing the woman causing the others to be sent on guard, of course my sister's relax posture combined with her tone and words caused us to relax although I did shoot her a look for keeping that encounter a secret. "I take it you two are also members of the this Tomb Keeper clan?" Kylie questioned.

"Yes, though technically speaking the both of us are handmaidens to Marik-sama's elder sister whom I believe you three…," Azurite responded. As she mentioned the sister, the red haired girl motioned to me, Kylie and Yami which somewhat confused me. "… have already met. It was on her orders that we were even with Marik-sama to begin with. Rishid was Marik-sama's guardian and brotherly figure," Azurite commented. That was a little more than confusing but I recalled the woman who'd appeared to the female Rare Hunters at the end of our duel and it did explain the man's actions in regards to Marik.

At that moment the doctor finished examining Rishid so the gem named girl rushed over to get answers about him from the doctor; as it turned out that whilst he hadn't physically suffered any damage thus his state of unconsciousness was probably due to extreme mental shock thus rendering him in a comatose state

"Bakura-kun's still sleeping after he fell in his duel. Too many people have been hurt by this tournament!" Anzu spoke up. That was a valid point but we couldn't stop the tournament due to how important it was for Yami to reclaim his memories and that meant that things were only going to get worse before they got better.

"But it doesn't make any sense… I took damage from the God Card just like he did. Why just him?" Jounouchi wondered. Honda's immediate response was that the blonde was clearly thick skinned which caused the boy to get rather angry at the brunette for his response although I couldn't help but think that maybe Honda was actually onto something despite his insult.

"He might be right Jounouchi," I commented. I could feel the blonde turned his brown eyes to stare at me wondering what on earth I could possibly mean. "Perhaps not literally thick skinned, but you might have been stronger than Rishid was… at least in here you were," I answered. As I did I pointed at the area where my heart lay to explain what I meant, this caused the brown eyed boy to smile.

Although at that moment Jounouchi expressed that Marik was the person whom he was truly mad at for what he had done in forcing Rishid to become his shadow and then abandoning him, he even went on to claim that Marik was rotten to the core; I looked at Azurite wondering if she would say anything in regards to the Egyptian man.

"THAT **thing** is not Marik-sama! It is a vile thing that must be stopped!" An angry voice growled. We turned around to see that Rhodonite was there, dressed in the same style robes as her partner but obviously matching the colour of her eyes and name, she strode over to the bed whilst shooting a glare at Jounouchi who paled and stepped back.

"Even so, when things got rough that… Other Marik betrayed him and left him alone. When you think about it, you can't help but feel bad for this man," Mai commented. A few seconds after the blonde vixen spoke those words Jounouchi explained that he understood why he'd been able to stand up unlike Rishid, apparently he'd had a dream of all of his friends helping him to stand back up.

Jounouchi thanked us for helping him to stand up and this caused Honda to demand repayment for food that the brunette had bought for the blonde a while back causing Jounouchi to dash over to grab the boy in annoyance; of course Honda managed to distract him by bringing up the lottery for the third match, so we decided to leave.

"Azurite, Rhodonite aren't you coming?" I asked. The two women hadn't moved from their positions beside Rishid's bedside which was somewhat confusing as they were probably two of the missing duelists so why hadn't they been participating in watching the lottery, I mean the results were broadcast when decided but that still wasn't enough to sate normal curiosity, although their worry for a friend might have been the reason.

"We have no need to watch it, our duels will be after this one and before our lady's," Azurite answered. I furrowed my eyebrows at this new piece of information but decided to accept it and so I turned and proceeded to walk out of the room but I was stopped once more when I heard Mai calling out to Jounouchi with my sister also stopping and Anzu was behind the blonde vixen.

"Can I ask you something?" Mai asked. Jounouchi proceeded to ask the woman what it was and even I was a touch confused by what she could possible want to ask. "The dream you saw… I was in it too, right? With everyone?" Mai wondered. Jounouchi didn't actually answer so I moved around to get a better look at his face allowing me to see a blush colouring his face.

"W-well… you know… my dream took place in our classroom! So of **course** you weren't in it! You're too old to be in high school! Next time… oh, that's it! You can be a lady zombie! It'll be a dark and serious character. W-well, I'm off," Jounouchi answered. He then proceeded to leave the room whilst Mai seemed to be in shock upon hearing his answer, Kylie let out a short growl before marching out into the hallway after the boy with Anzu not to far behind.

"I wouldn't worry about Jounouchi's actions Mai. I think he'd just embarrassed," I spoke up. I then dashed out into the hallway and found that Anzu and Kylie had already done their work in telling Jounouchi off given the lack of their presence and the blonde's stunned form. "You are an idiot Jounouchi! Mai **likes** you and it's obvious **you like **her, so why the **hell** didn't you tell her the truth!?" I fumed. The boy couldn't even form a response to my fury so I strode right passed him and towards the lottery location.

Once everyone – except Rishid, Rhodonite, Azurite and the other mystery duelist – had assembled the lottery could be started, although Jounouchi protested Marik's continued participation as he had technically entered using a false name, however given that I'm certain Seto was gunning for the Winged Divine Dragon of Ra so that wasn't going to happen; I was right when Seto promptly refused to do so by claiming the tournament was based on skill not names.

The lottery started and soon the numbers were spat out, the first one was Number Four which was Mai, however before the next Number could be shown Mai proceeded to walk off declaring that she would win and see the boys, me and my sister in the finals even though our matches hadn't been played yet.

"We'll cheer you on," Jounouchi insisted. That got a very sharp and angry sounding 'don't come' from the blonde vixen with her insisting that she didn't need us to be there for her as she wasn't a part of our group of friends; confusion bubbled within me and it was reflected on everyone else's face since Mai was acting the way she used to back on Duelist Kingdom, actually she might be worse, as she called Jounouchi a soft duelist who needed someone else's power to win.

"Kujaku Mai's opponent is Marik Ishtar. Both participants, please report to the Aerial Duel Ring," Isono announced. I snapped my head back around and felt the blood drain away at this knowledge, of all the people here **why!? Why **did it have to be **him!** This put Mai in a seriously perilous situation so whilst the others debated going I immediately proceeded to rush up to the arena in order to watch their duel and help Mai any way I could.

Other Marik eventually came to the platform after Mai had finished sorting herself out and I noticed that he was wearing pale beige trousers, a black sleeveless shirt, a pair of long golden bracelets, a golden band on each of his forearms and several bands around his neck with a long purple cloak over his shoulders, he was holding the Millennium Rod as he walked and came to stand before his opponent.

"The darkness is **hungry**," Other Marik stated. Yes… that wasn't completely ominous and frightening; however Mai clearly wasn't terrified as she immediately proceeded to activate her Duel Disk with Marik following her actions, I couldn't relax and as a result was bouncing or rocking on the balls of my feet.

**Mai – LP: 4000**

**Other Marik – LP: 4000**

"My turn! I summon Dynamis Valkyria in attack mode!" Mai announced. The new monster appeared on the field and I was quite surprised yet pleased to see that the blonde lady had improved on her deck beyond what she had at Duelist Kingdom. "My turn is over," Mai announced. My lips thinned at that as she hadn't set up any support for her monster although she might not have been able to.

**Dynamis Valkyria – Attribute: Light, Type: Fairy, Level: 4, ATK/1800, DEF/1050**

"Now isn't **that** a nice rare card? Now then… I think I'll start things off with a sharp sword. My turn," Other Marik commented. He then put his Millennium Rod away and drew his first card of the match. "My card is Revival Slime, defence mode," Marik calmly informed. The monster's identity actually proceeded to ground me as I recalled that infernal creature from Yami's duel and how much trouble it had caused.

**Revival Slime – Attribute: Water, Type: Water, Level: 4, ATK/1500, DEF/500**

"The Magic card, Slime Breeding Machine," Other Marik stated. I gritted my teeth tightly together upon the appearance of the other annoying thing from Yami's duel. "Thanks to this card, a Slime Token will be created on each of my turns. Now woman, if you don't attack me quickly, my field will become **crowded** with Monsters," Other Marik admitted. Everyone decided at that moment to tumble out of the elevator and came over to my position where they proceeded to start encouraging Mai which annoyed the blonde woman due to what she'd told them.

"We **know **that! You'll win regardless of what we do! But we're you're friends, so cheering you on is only natural, isn't it?" Jounouchi protested. Mai relented by telling them to do what they wanted, so I took that opportunity to yank on Yami's arm and I pointed at Marik's field causing the ancient pharaoh's eyes to widen at what he saw as Mai started her turn.

"Mai! Watch out! That monster is-!" Yami began to warn. However Mai immediately cut off the man by claiming he was violating principles as it was against the rules to give advice which caused Yami to fall silent but at that moment Other Marik took the opportunity to mock our friend by asking if she was sure.

"Ah, pipe down psycho. Mai's going to beat you black and blue," Kylie seethed. As much as I wanted to believe in my sister's words I wasn't as sure since I knew the combo that Other Marik was probably going to use and none of us knew the abilities that Ra possessed and it was likely that he was going to use it in this duel at some point.

"Don't look down on me! I don't need anyone to help me! I've got this far by fighting alone!" Mai shot back at the man. I was concerned about the blonde woman as she seemed determined to go through this duel alone and by ignoring us that could potential put her in danger. "Dynamis Valkyria attack Revival Slime, Angel Dust!" Mai commanded. The winged woman unleashed streams of sparkling black light at the blue slime which blasted it apart. "Revival Slime is destroyed," Mai stated.

However in that moment the small globs that had formed when Revival Slime had been attacked, immediately flew back together reforming the creature shocking the blonde woman, as Other Marik revealed its' regeneration ability and insisted they take it slow as he proceeded to draw a card which he swiftly activated, revealing it was Pot of Greed thus giving him two more cards; at that moment the Slime Breeding Machine generated the first of the tokens for his God card and he set one face down.

**Slime Token – Attribute: Water, Type: Water/Token, Level: 1, ATK/500, DEF/500**

"Defend Slime," I commented. That face down had to be the trap that had caused Yami so much trouble when he'd face that Doll, I saw Yami and Kylie nod their heads in agreement with Mokuba and Seto even agreeing on that point; I'm sure that Mai would realise what Other Marik was up to with this strategy from the Kaiba brothers' discussion

"I won't let you! My turn!" Mai announced. She then proceeded to draw her card and immediately slid it into the Magic and Trap card in order to activate it. "Magic Card, Harpie's Feather Duster!" Mai announced. A green whirlwind shot forth and swirled across Other Marik's field thus destroying the face down card and Slime Breeding Machine, causing Jounouchi to cheer, Mai then had her Valkyrie attack the Slime token destroying it.

**Other Marik – LP: 4000 – LP: 2700**

"She did it! Mai scored an early lead!" Jounouchi cheered. That was a simple thing to obtain, if Mai was to win this duel then she **had **to prevent **three **monsters from getting onto the field at the same time in order to prevent Ra's summoning whilst whittling away at Other Marik's Life Points; I felt a chill settle into my bones as Mai proceeded to end her turn by setting a card face down.

"My turn. I summon Melchid the Four-Faced Beast!" Other Marik announced. The creature was projected onto the field and it did indeed have four faces across its' surface which repeatedly spun around to show off the different faces however that monster definitely wasn't the source of my chilled feeling and Kylie seemed to be rather uneasy about the situation as well.

**Melchid the Four-Faced Beast – Attribute: Dark, Type: Demon, Level: 4, ATK/1500, DEF/1200**

"I then Release both Revival Slime and Melchid the Four-Faced Beast to Advance Summon, Masked Beast Death Guardius!" Marik announced. The monster that had been looming over Yami and Seto during their Tag duel appeared now looming over Mai, glancing at the two men showed how unsettled they were to see it again.

**Masked Demon Beast – Death Guardius – Attribute: Dark, Type: Demon, Level: 8, ATK/3300, DEF/2500**

"Go, Death Guardius! Attack Dynamis Valkyria!" Marik commanded. The masked creature proceeded to run forward however Mai was quicker as she activated Silver Screen, Mirror Wall; the reflective sheen arose to protect her monster and Death Gardius smashed its' claws into its' own reflection causing the rainbow lines to course across its' body and forcibly dropping its' attack power by half.

**Masked Demon Beast – Death Guardius – ATK/3300 – ATK/1650**

Mai immediately had her monster unleash her Angel Dust attack which destroyed the weakened monster and shaving more Life Points from Marik, however I recalled what had happened the last time this monster got destroyed; the mask flew out and secured itself to the Valkyrie's face and brought her over to Marik's side.

**Marik – LP: 2700 – LP: 2550**

"The moment Death Guardius is destroyed, its' effect instantly activates, known as the Mask of Testament. Thus I shuffle my deck and I gain control of Dynamis Valkyria and allow me to dispose of that nuisance of a Trap. The Magic Card, Remove Trap!" Other Marik bragged. Honda brought up the grimness of this situation due to the huge amount of damage she'd take from an attack.

"No, it'll be fine. If things continue to go the way they've been going so far, Mai's got this duel in the bag," Jounouchi believed. However as much as I wished that was true, it was becoming apparent that Other Marik was a scheming monster that wasn't showing his real abilities just yet, Mai then proceeded to draw a card.

"I'm going to get serious now. I'll show you the power of my Amazoness Deck!" Mai announced. However Other Marik didn't even seem fazed by this proclamation and Jounouchi was getting annoyed by his rather carefree attitude and warned Mai to keep her guard up. "Shut **up**! You're pissing me off" Mai snarled. Jounouchi proved how much of a knucklehead he could be by wondering what was wrong with the blonde vixen; Mai proceeded to pass her turn.

"Oh… I don't know. Maybe because somebody **lied** about his dream, hurting **her** feelings and causing **her** to **believe** that they **weren't** friends," Kylie sniped. A disapproving scowl on her face as she looked at Jounouchi, however I noticed that Other Marik had a wicked look on his face as he looked at us before reaching behind him to bring out his Millennium Rod pointing it at Mai.

"It's about time we **end** this little petty farce. Woman, I plan to **sacrifice **you. That's enough of a warm up," Other Marik claimed. I felt a cold sweat break out across my body as Mai repeated the last two words however I knew what was coming next. "Now, let the Dark Game begin!" Other Marik announced. The strange shadow dome of the Shadow Realm enveloped us, Mai looked around and seemed to be mildly panicking upon seeing the change in surroundings. "Starting right now, I'll make you experience the world's most terrifying game!" Other Marik revealed even as he passed his turn.

Otogi quickly caught onto the fact that these clouds weren't normal whilst Kylie had tensed up quite tightly if the white knuckle grip on her own arms was anything to go by, as for me I was shaking slightly at the pressure that a Shadow Game caused to be pressed upon my magical senses and Yami was busy glaring at the madman who was attempting to kill him.

"Marik, stop this!" Yami called out. However it was apparent that the psychopath wasn't listening to the ancient pharaoh and so he turned around to face Mai. "Mai! This duel is dangerous! If you lose, you'll **lose **your **life** as well! Surrender the duel!" Yami insisted. However Mai didn't realise the seriousness of Yami's tone as she believed he was trying to insult her as she believed surrendering would cause a part of her heart to die.

"Mai! This isn't a game anymore! This is **far** worse! Losing claims your **life **and I mean that quite **literally**!" Kylie protested. Mai turned her gaze to my sister whose face was drawn tight with panic, dealing with it when we were participating in a Shadow Game was one thing but watching form the side lines as a friend risked their life wasn't something we were used to.

"Kylie-san, I respect you. But don't try to stop me!" Mai retorted. Kylie looked very close to screaming or maybe knocking the woman out with some magic to save her life. "Yami! Jounouchi! Kylie-san! Katherine-chan! I'll win this duel no matter what happens. So that I can fight **you guys **next!" Mai insisted. Jounouchi then told my sister and his best friend to stop trying to talk Mai out of this cause of action.

"Be careful Mai, this game is far more psychological and taxing then you might realise," I warned. Mai looked at me and nodded her head in understanding and she immediately turned back to her opponent and she started her turn by setting one card face down and then she proceeded to summon out Ally-Killing Lady Knight and it began to glow with a strange light.

**Ally-Killing Lady Knight – Attribute: Earth, Type: Warrior, Level: 4, ATK/2000, DEF/1000**

"Kujaku Mai, you can see this because you are participating in the Dark Game. The light illuminating your Monster… that light is the very light of your **existence**. Rather than me explaining it, you'll understand quicker if you see it for yourself. This is a game of **dismay **and **fear**. And you will feel emotions beyond anything you've ever experienced in this duel!" Marik gleeful explained. His face had stretched as veins became pronounced across his face as he spoke.

"Ally-Killing Lady Knight! Attack Dynamis Valkyria!" Mai announced. Her warrior charged at the Valkyrie and sliced right through her, however as she did a flash of Anzu appeared in her place with the girl being cut right down the middle before it returned to Dynamis who'd been deal the same kind of attack that the image of Anzu had been seen with.

**Marik – LP: 2550 – LP: 2350**

"Well done. You succeeded in reducing my Life… but Dynamis Valkyria was originally **your **Monster! Therefore the Effect of Darkness shall activate and affect **you**!" Other Marik mockingly explained. Mai was naturally confused by this since she'd never played in a single Shadow Game before this one. "That's right. Every single monster on the field holds within it a piece of human memory… of both you and me and of course, once that Monster is destroyed, the very piece of our memory within it shall disappear!" Other Marik explained.

My blood ran so cold it might as well have been ice as I realise that by destroying Dynamis Valkyria then Mai had destroyed all of her memories of Anzu as a result; the others were trying to get answers out of Yami but then a card appeared in the air, spinning around until it stopped revealing the brunette's girl face and that she was indeed going to be the once banished from Mai's memory.

"Anzu's going to vanish from my memory?" Mai questioned. Other Marik then used this opportunity to claim that he had used his Millennium Rod to find out what was dear to Mai's heart and exactly how to break it, claiming his Millennium Rod was the most suitable tool to get under people's skin; apparently Mai's greatest fear was us disappearing before her very eyes. "That's… not possible!" Mai protested. Other Marik then proceeded to goad Mai into thinking of Anzu's face to see if she could remember the brunette girl. "I can't remember!" Mai exclaimed.

"Now, dear woman… you've taken your first step towards **true **loneliness," Other Marik gloated. Mai proceeded to look down at us but her eyes were slightly vacant as if she was trying to understand something but couldn't comprehend it. "Kujaku Mai, you shall suffer true loneliness and despair before you die a miserable death! And that is why they call it… a Dark Game," Marik mocked. His face stretched once more whilst his voice twisted into a creepy airy like whisper.


	31. Chapter 31

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback, or something in another language.**

**Thank you to Guest for your reviews, I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 31: - Steal The God Card

After hearing that Anzu was going to be erased from Mai's memories, the blonde woman had frozen stiff as Other Marik continued to wear that sickeningly mad grin stretched across his face; the others started to call out words of encouragement to our frozen friend in an attempt to jolt her back to the duel.

"Mai-san, hang in there!" Anzu called out. Those words got the blonde vixen's attention and she turned to look at where Anzu was standing however her purple gaze was unfocused. "Mai-san, you can do it!" Anzu continued on. However Mai's gaze simply roam about the area, never once settling on the brunette's form causing the girl's face to twist in worry. "Mai-san?" Anzu questioned.

"No one here is deaf so I'm assuming you all heard that thing's statement," I spoke up. Everyone turned to look at me – except Katherine and Yami – with worried and confused looks on their faces, especially those who didn't know what a Shadow Game was. "That monster has activated a Shadow Game, or Dark Game as some call it, it puts one's spiritual and mental abilities under great strain but each has a special circumstance around it. In this if you lose a monster, you lose someone from your memories. The Valkyria's destruction erased Anzu," I explained.

"But then that means he'll lose people from his memories too!" Otogi exclaimed. Frankly I don't think this monster had anyone he cared about, perhaps Marik did, such as Rishid, his sister and maybe even Rhodonite and Azurite, but not this thing; there was nothing in Other Marik's heart except cold black greed.

"Something tells me he doesn't care," Katherine commented. At that moment Other Marik proceeded to make his move by playing one card face down on his field and he then proceeded to summon out a monster known as Executioner – Makyura in attack mode; I was unsure about whether or not Other Marik could control who the monster was connected to in the person's memories.

**Executioner – Makyura – Attribute: Dark, Type: Warrior, Level: 4, ATK/1600, DEF/1200**

"Furthermore, I play a Magic card with Executioner – Makyura. I attach the Black Pendant to it," Other Marik announced. A small curse bubbled into my mind as I realised what this move meant, Makyura would get an increase in attack power and if the monster was destroyed then Mai was going to take the increase as damage, of course Other Marik only explained the first half of the card's effects.

**Executioner – Makyura – ATK/1600 – ATK/2100**

With that five hundred point increase Other Marik's monster was now stronger than Mai's Swordswoman, Other Marik commanded his monster to attack however Mai appeared to be well prepared for this course of action as she activated her Trap card which was known as Amazoness Archery Squad; this caused five muscular women to be projected onto the field wielding bow pointed at Makyura, three were knelt down whilst two stood straight.

"This Trap card keeps your enemy's monsters from moving and lowers its' attack points by five hundred," Mai explained. As the blonde woman explained, the five arrows flew forward and burrowed deep into Makyura which halted the creature's movements, I felt a breath of relief escape me as Katherine's stressed shoulders seemed to relax just slightly.

**Executioner – Makyura – ATK/2100 – ATK/1600**

"Very smart," Other Marik complimented. With the power balance having been restored to how it was before, Mai immediately had her warrior woman attack the monster, slicing it right down the middle with the creature shattering but in its' place I saw that creepy guy who Marik had used to duel against Yami when we first saw Slifer.

**Other Marik – LP: 2350 – LP: 1950**

"You, huh," Other Marik commented. Mai was confused by the person she'd just seen and proceeded to question the psychopath about this event. "That's right. He just vanished from my memory , now I do wonder who he could have been, but whoever it was that disappeared, I couldn't careless either way. I've loved only the **darkness **since I was a child," Other Marik admitted. Oh wow… he was a psychopath among psychopaths, I hadn't meant anyone who was as batshit crazy as this monster.

At that moment, Other Marik took the opportunity to explain about the secondary effect of Black Pendant which naturally caused Mai to gritted her teeth at this occurrence, this was certainly going to be a rather draining duel for Mai as she had to keep her monsters safe from destruction or risk losing a piece of her memory every time, but that was certainly easier said than done.

**Mai – LP: 4000 – LP: 3500**

"My turn has indeed come to an end, but Executioner – Makyura has a special ability. When it's defeated, I can instantly activate a Trap card from my hand. I shall activate this Trap card from my hand! Rope of Life!" Other Marik revealed. The card was activated causing a rope to swirl out and entered into a black hole, when the rope was hauled back out the previously destroyed monster was holding onto it as Other Marik explained the reviving and power-up effect of the trap which shocked Mai.

**Executioner – Makyura – ATK/1600 – ATK/2400**

With the monster back on the field and stronger than Mai's, Other Marik proceeded to order his monster to attack and the woman was shredded to pieces which Marik called a fitting end for one who betrayed her allies – hah! Like he knew anything about allies – Mai's monster shattered apart and I saw the transparent image of Jounouchi appeared in its' place briefly.

**Mai – LP: 3500 – LP: 3100**

"Jounouchi!" Mai cried out. Tears appeared in her eyes as Other Marik proceeded to mock the woman's situation as Mai's eyes widened whilst going completely blank. "Jounouchi's going to disappear from my mind… from within **me**," Mai lamented. This wasn't good, not only was Mai inexperienced but Other Marik was directly targeting one of the things she feared the most. "I'll be lonely again…," Mai spoke. My gritted together so hard I'd thought that they would shatter from the pressure.

"Yami!" I called. The ancient spirit turned around to face me with a firm expression settled on his face but his eyes burned with worry. "We need to do something about this!" I insisted. I couldn't sit by and do nothing to help out in this scenario, just like with Yugi and Yami against Pegasus it simply wasn't something I felt comfortable with going through.

"**Now **disappear!" Other Marik commanded. The image of Jounouchi proceeded to shatter into nothingness, this caused Mai to collapse to her knees and Jounouchi wasted no time in shooting forward to call up to the woman but she was completely unresponsive to the blonde boy's cries causing me to swallow thickly upon seeing this as Jounouchi asked for confirmation from Yami about what was happening but refused to believe the truth when the pharaoh answered and began calling up to the woman once more.

"I'll scramble the Millennium Rod whilst you two go and help Mai," Katherine proposed quietly. I snapped my head down to my sister who had a smile on her face to show that she was ok with taking such a dangerous role, nodding my head in understanding, I reached out to take Yami's hand as Katherine lifted her Gauntlet covered hand and proceeded to clench it into a fist; I activated my power and focused on Mai's mind which was easy to reach into given her current state.

_***Yu-Gi-Oh***_

_The two of us appeared within the connected realm of Mai and Other Marik's mind, unlike the corridor that linked Katherine and Yugi's mind this place was a stretched out murky green landscape with white rings scattered about, almost like the rings seen inside a tree's trunk, Mai was walking forward with her back to us as her hands waved about whilst Other Marik watched her from behind._

_Yami sent out a pulse of light which caused Mai to stop her aimless wandering and she immediately turned around to look at the light whilst also shielding her eyes, meanwhile Other Marik suddenly went transparent causing him to slightly freak out upon seeing his condition and so we walked forward until the woman could see us and we called out to the woman._

"_Yu.. gi... no you're… Yami ? And Kylie-san?" Mai questioned. The faded image of Other Marik proceeded to whip around and he promptly cursed the two of us however I couldn't care less about whatever he had to say to us, my main concern was helping my friend escape from the trap that this monster had trapped her in._

"_Mai, don't be confused by Marik's illusions," Yami advised. Mai was confused by those words but she immediately proceeded to ask if she was truly imaging the loneliness that was surrounding her a glimmer of hope entered her eyes but it was almost smothered by the fear that was currently overwhelming her at this moment._

"_Of course you are. This Game is a Shadow Game and winning it requires willpower to do so. These illusions are manifestations of the fear and terror held in your heart," I explained. Mai looked at us with relief before it twisted into doubt and she proceeded to drop her head with a sorrowful expression on her face._

"_Yami… Kylie… I feel… like I've lost something important to me. Something I cherished… deep within my heart," Mai explained. At that moment I heard Jounouchi's voice echo in the world with the boy calling out to the blonde woman and those words attracted Mai's attention in an instant. "That voice. I'm not sure who it belongs to, but it warms my heart. It's so warm," Mai admitted. I raised an eyebrow at those words, it seemed Jounouchi held a particularly __**special **__place in Mai's heart, a smile came to my lips at this._

"_Focus on that voice," I called out. Mai turned to look at me as I raised a hand to press it over the area where my heart lay. "When we fight for something we care about, we find strength that seems impossible to stop, that voice warms your heart and provides you with the strength necessary to win this duel," I explained. Mai allowed a small smile to spread onto her lips upon hearing those very true words._

"_Mai, you have to win! If you win this Dark Game, Marik's illusion will disappear! Don't ever let the light in your heart go out! Take back the memories you've lost!" Yami encouraged. Mai called out our names before the fierce determination so common to the woman returned to her face as Other Marik glared at us for interfering with his plan, having helped Mai we proceeded to leave the mindscape._

_***Yu-Gi-Oh***_

Returning to reality I looked at my sister in time to see Katherine dropped her Gauntlet with a slight sheen of sweat covering her face as Other Marik sneered down at us, no doubt infuriated with our interference in his sick game, whilst Mai shakily rose to her feet yet still determined to face down the monster standing across from her.

"I'll be taking back what you've stolen from me in this duel!" Mai declared. However the psychopath was completely assured of his victory in the duel, yet Mai wasn't daunted by those words. "I won't let you touch my memories again! My turn! I summon the Amazoness Chain Master in attack mode!" Mai announced. The muscular female monster was projected and seemed to be glaring at Other Marik with the same harshness that shone in her mistress' eyes.

**Amazoness Chain Master – Attribute: Earth, Type: Warrior, Level: 4, ATK/1500, DEF/1300**

"I then set a face down card and end my turn," Mai finished. I hoped that the face down card would be able to protect her monsters from further destruction but I was completely willing to jump back into the mindscape and help Mai out if she needed it again; Other Marik then proceed to draw a card from his deck as I wondered what would happen now.

"You know, you two can stop holding hands now," Anzu suddenly spat. I looked at the brunette who was giving me a dirty look before looking at one of my hands, this hand happened to still be wrapped with Yami's; a blush burned at me cheeks and I quickly let go but not without seeing the unhappy look that briefly graced Yami's face before it settled back to his passive expression, meanwhile Katherine was trying to hold back her chuckles by coughing… it wasn't working.

"I'll teach you **over and over **that loneliness is **not **an illusion," Other Marik warned. He raised the card that he drew above his head and I felt my muscles tense up and Mai prepared herself for the coming attack. "My card is Holding Arms," Other Marik announced. He played the card in the monster zone but my eyebrows furrowed in confusion as I'd never heard of this card before and when it was projected it only got worse; it looked like the Millennium Twak but crossed with a pair of handcuffs.

**Holding Arms – Attribute: Earth, Type: Demon, Level: 4, ATK/500, DEF/?**

"I'll use this to attack your Amazoness Chain Master!" Other Marik announced. My eyebrows shot into my hairline in surprise and immense confusion as Other Marik's monster was sure to be destroyed, the creature flew over and stretched out its' cuffs which latched onto the warrior woman's wrists and she was hoisted into the sky, completely confounding everyone. "This thing has the 'power of invincibility' that renders it unkillable against all opposing monster attacks for three turns. Holding Arms doesn't hold enough attack points to defeat the Amazoness but…," Other Marik explained.

Just as Other Marik trailed off electricity began to crackle across the female monster's body causing her to scream in pain as Other Marik explained it was enough to hold her and be tortured for the three turns of invincibility with the psychopath practically swooning over how long it might take before Mai's monster fell unconscious and he then proceeded to laugh at the pain Amazoness Chain Master was enduring.

"Marik! Stop this meaningless fight already!" Yami demanded. However as was probably predictable at this point, Other Marik refused to do so and claimed no one could stop the Shadow Game which was **unfortunately **true as me and Katherine had learned from experience and – with his face stretching and voice distorting once more – the monster claimed that once Mai lost she would fall into a deep slumber and that torturing Yami's friends wasn't meaningless. "Lousy scum," Yami hissed.

"I can't wait to play with the mind of your Consort, breaking her will be highly entertaining especially as you watch her fall into darkness unable to rescue her," Other Marik mocked. Knowing that he was talking about me caused a shiver to crawl up my spine, Yami swore not to let him get away with this, although at that moment Mai called out to the ancient spirit and claimed this was her fight and to stay out of it as she'd face him until the end causing Yami to loosen his tensed posture.

"Yugi- ah sorry Yami! What does he mean Mai will fall into a deep slumber?!" Jounouchi questioned. Yami stated those were simply the rules of the Dark Games causing Jounouchi to look back at the duel; Mai then proceeded to activate her set card which was a Magic card known as Burial Arm, this caused a hole to appear and from within a hand shot out from within the hole.

"I'll bury one monster with this Magic card," Mai explained. Other Marik proceeded to claim that the Magic card wouldn't work on Holding Arms given its' invincible state, however Mai proceeded to smirk at her opponent causing my lips to curl into a smile at seeing that expression on her face. "Who said anything about burying **your **monster?" Mai questioned. That meant she was aiming for her Chain Master and was probably banking on its' effect to help her out.

Mai proceeded to sacrifice her Amazoness Chain Master and since it wasn't defeated by any of Other Marik's cards that meant that Mai's memory would remain intact, the Chain Master was pulled free from the Holding Arms and was pulled towards the hole; however Mai activated Amazoness Chain Master's effect, by paying one thousand Life Points this allowed her to steal one monster from Other Marik's deck.

**Mai – LP: 3100 – LP: 2100**

The Chain Master swung her weapon around her head a few times before sending the pointed tip flying towards Marik's deck as Mai revealed that she intended to take the Winged Divine Dragon of Ra; everyone celebrated Mai's decision and it did seem to be the best course of action as taking that card would deprive the monster of his most powerful card and give her a better chance of winning; as the arm disappeared Mai raised her hand to reveal her prize.

"It's mine now! Your God Card, the Winged Divine Dragon of Ra!" Mai gloated. However instead of appearing worried or even slightly concerned that his opponent had his God card, Other Marik asked if it would all go according to plan even claiming her suffering would be legendary, but Mai wasn't worried and threatening to have him dancing in hell before she suffered any more.

"Oh, that is a relief," Katherine sighed. I couldn't fault her for feeling that way as I'm sure that all of us were breathing a little easier knowing that Mai wasn't going to be facing that God card any time soon and it might even bring Other Marik to defeat, although that did remind me of other Marik's earlier claim about only those connected to the Millennium Items being capable of controlling the Gods, along with myself.

"My turn!" Mai declared. She paused for a few moments, probably running over strategies in her head about what to do in regards to defeating her opponent **and **protecting her memories from destruction. "I'll set two face downs on my field and I summon Amazoness Fighting Warrior in attack mode," Mai announced. Another muscular woman appeared and Mai seemed confident about her current position.

**Amazoness Fighting Warrior – Attribute: Earth, Type: Warrior, Level: 4, ATK/1500, DEF/1300**

Other Marik proceeded to draw a card and it was the only one in his hand seeing as he had used up all the card in his hand earlier, however the maniac didn't hesitate in sending Makyura after Mai's monster but Mai used this attack to activate one of her face downs which turned out to be a Magic card known as Amazoness Curse Master which caused the two monsters to have their attack points switched.

**Executioner – Makyura – ATK/2400 – ATK/1500**

**Amazoness Fighting Warrior – ATK/1500 – ATK/2400**

"Amazoness Fighting Warrior, counterattack Makyura!" Mai commanded. The brawler swiftly dealt a sharp kick to the executioner's head which was forcibly snapped to the side and destroyed, an image appeared and I realised that it was Pandora which then shattered indicating that he had been erased from Marik's memories.

**Other Marik – LP: 1950 – LP: 1050**

"It feels **good**… when an enemy falls into your trap!" Other Marik declared. I pressed my teeth together as Mai seemed surprised by this repeating the last word. "That's right. Trap card, Card of Last Will!" Other Marik revealed. The card had activated when Mai had increased her monster's attack points and this allowed Other Marik to draw until he had five card in his hand and he was allowed to activate Makyura ability once more.

Other Marik swore to let Mai taste greater pain as he activate the trap known as Scratch Wheel which looked like an ancient torture device which was further emphasised when the monster swore to torture Mai's monster – who happened to be strapped to the device – to death and take away five hundred of Mai's life Points every turn.

"I should **thank **you for trying to trap me," Mai responded. I quirked an eyebrow at this as I glanced at Mai's remaining face down assuming it had something to do with that. "I'll match Trap with Trap. Reverse card activate! Rescue Operation! This card allows me to take one trapped monster back to my hand… and play another monster from my hand in its' place!" Mai announced. Other Marik wondered if Mai was going to bring Ra to the field, of course Mai wasn't because she knew how Ra's attack points were worked out but she did have a way to bring it out and she summoned out Harpie Lady Cyber Bondage.

**Harpie Lady Cyber Bondage – Attribute: Wind, Type: Avian Beast, Level: 4, ATK/1800, DEF/1300**

I smirked realising exactly how Mai intended to bring Ra out and with her turn now, Mai proceeded to close her eyes as she placed her fingers on her deck almost asking for help, she drew her card and looked at it causing her expression to break out into a smile, clearly meaning she had drawn the card she wished for.

"I activate the Magic card, Angel's Charity!" Mai revealed. She drew and discarded the required cards, two of which were the cards she'd just drawn, Mai looked at her opponent. "Everything's set! I'll let you see it! Me controlling God!" Mai announced. Seto looked to be rather excited whilst I cottoned onto the combo that Mai was aiming for.

"God now obeys **me**! This is my trump card! Magic card activate, Kaleidoscope – Magnificent Doppelgangers!" Mai announced. The card was played and so the single Harpie lady proceeded to transform into three, giving Mai all she needed to bring out Ra and possibly bring an end to this duel; Jounouchi admitted he'd forgotten about the card but was happy to see their appearance.

**Three Harpie Lady Sisters – Attribute: Wind, Type: Avian Beast, Level: 6, ATK/1800, DEF/1300**

"I sacrifice my three Harpies… and summon the Winged Divine Dragon of Ra!" Mai declared. The three bird women gathered in a circle which spun around until it became a towering tornado with wild winds whipping around us before it vanished as Mai raised Ra's card above her head. "Come forth, Winged Divine Dragon of Ra!" Mai finished. She played the card and instantly a light burst to life in the sky above us, I wrapped my hand around my bracelet as I looked up, wondering if it would begin to burn once more.

We all stared as the brilliant light faded away to reveal… a sphere, hovering in the air above us as Other Marik began to laugh.


	32. Chapter 32

**Good Day Readers and apologises for the delay so I'll be updating two chapters today. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback, or something in another language.**

**Thank you to Guest for your reviews, I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 32: - Mystery of the Hieratic Text

The sphere hovering above our head glowed like a weakened version of the sun, I certainly wouldn't go blind from looking at it but it still caused me to shield my eyes from the light, however everyone was deeply confused by the strange form that Ra had taken since it was completely different to the form that the fake version of it had taken in Rishid's duel against Jounouchi.

"I get that it's round like the sun… but is that all? This doesn't look a thing like what appeared in my Duel," Jounouchi questioned. That was a fair point however I still felt the same surge of power I got from Osiris and Obelisk, this strange creature was indeed the Winged Divine Dragon of Ra, but that left one important question; why was it a sphere.

"That snake's hiding something," Kylie hissed. Her vivid green eyes were spearing the psychopath opposing our friend, I think she was right and if it wasn't for the fact that he was still in the hospital unconscious I'd have called up Uncle Pegasus and demanded an answer from him about what the hell was with these God Cards.

"Relax woman," Other Marik spoke. That call immediately shifted everyone else's attention from the golden sphere above our heads to the psychopath who was grinning sadistically. "What you've summoned is the true Winged Divine Dragon of Ra," Other Marik admitted. That really didn't help with answering any of the questions that I had and the other all looked more confused than before. "But it's a pity… it's impossible for a duelist of **your **calibre to control a god. Only duelists chosen by God can **wield **a god!" Other Marik stated.

"Don't be stupid!" Mai retaliated. Her eyes burned with a fierce glint in her amethyst eyes as she seemed to be rather unsettled by the words. "When a card falls into the hands of a duelist, all its' powers belong to the duelist who possesses it! As of now, the God Card is mine!" Mai snapped. Those words were completely wrong as a monster could fight back if it truly wished too, but more than that the God Cards seemed to defy even the normal rules of the game so perhaps the more esoteric rules didn't apply to them as well.

"In that case, take a look at the God Card set on your Duel Disk," Other Marik calmly insisted. Mai did as such and revealed that hieroglyphic text had appeared in the text space of the card, Kylie looked at me and I shared her surprise at this twist as there hadn't been any text when Mai had played the card, did that mean it needed special conditions to reveal the text. "Can you decipher the script? It contains the **key **to awakening the true powers of Ra!" Other Marik revealed.

Things seemed to be getting worse the more than the psychopath spoke, if we needed to read ancient text to unlock Ra then Other Marik was probably the only person who could read it, unless Yami retained his knowledge of hieroglyph but I wasn't holding out much hope, of course then the monster had to open his big mouth once more and revealed that Ra possessed hidden abilities.

Suddenly Mokuba took off from Seto's side causing me to furrow my eyebrows at this, but I guess that Seto had already concocted some plan to attempt getting around Ra's unknown and quite possibly rather impressive powers and Mokuba had most likely took off to start the process; as for Mai the panicked and tense expression on her face clearly implied that she couldn't read the text.

"It's impossible… unless you can read that text, you can't control Ra or activate its' Special Abilities. But I'll tell you one thing, those letters are Hieratic Text," Other Marik revealed. At those words Kylie promptly paled and I'm fairly certain my mouth fell open upon that revelation. "Ancient letters written by the priests," Other Marik added on. Hieratic text was a rather old script that was also rarely seen due to hieroglyphs being more commonly known and Hieratic being primarily written on parchment; the others were confused by this revelation.

"The most popular form of script in Ancient Egypt from its' inception during the Third Millennium BCE until the rise of Demotic in the mid First Millennium BCE. It was a language used for law, literature and religion derived from Hieroglyphs, only select individuals were taught how to use it," Kylie rattled on. Everyone proceeded to stare at my sister in silence for several moments as she shifted slightly.

"You guys forgot our mum's an Egyptologist and we kind of learn these things by osmosis," I explained. Of course the creep up above chuckled at this so I ducked behind my sister who hissed at him; Other Marik turned back and explained that the chosen ones could read it with their hearts and **of course **he knew how to read it as a Tomb Keeper… our luck **really **sucks sometimes.

Mai was of course infuriated by this as she'd essentially left herself defenceless since Ra was locked up in that sphere and she couldn't summon out any more monsters unless it was a Special Summon which put her in a rather precarious position; somehow Other Marik knew that mine and Kylie's uncle had been incapable of deciphering the text forcing him to transcribe it onto the card and only by summoning Ra would it become visible.

That blasted demon even went as far as to mock Mai demanding that she take control of Ra knowing that she couldn't possibly do something like that, it was clear that Other Marik had tricked Mai into summoning Ra all along which caused my teeth to grit together as Kylie snarled viciously at the monster facing our friend; knowing that there was nothing more she could do Mai set one card face down and proceeded to end her turn, now we had to hope she could survive this turn and defeat Other Marik on her next.

"My turn," Other Marik commented. He drew his card and then shuffled the cards he held to draw that one that he wanted. "I summon Holding Legs!" Other Marik announced. The card was projected and it looked to be an exact duplicate of Holding Arms which caused me to tilt my head in confusion as to what the beast was planning to do with the monster.

**Holding Legs – Attribute: Earth, Type: Demon, Level: 4, ATK/800, DEF/600**

"I pity you, this thing has a special ability. When this card is played on the board all reverse cards are sent back to the player's hand," Other Marik admitted. The face down that Mai had hoped to survive with faded from the field forcing it to be ejected and the blonde vixen had to removed it from her Disk. "Furthermore, when the two cards Holding Arms and Holding Legs are gathered together… Wadjet's Tablet is called forth," Other Marik revealed.

From behind Mai a stone tablet emerged behind her, shocking the woman as Other Marik mocked that she was defenceless before demanding she let the darkness and pain embrace her, I was deeply confused by those words; however in the next moment both Holding Arms and Holding Legs surged forward and clamped their cuffs around Mai's wrist and ankles.

"MAI!" I screamed. The woman struggled to free herself but failed as the eye on the stone tablet flashed with light causing the two cuffs to forcibly drag the blonde woman back until she smacked into the tablet causing her card to fly from her hand, once the cuffs met the stone surface they proceeded to melt into the tablet as Mai struggled to free herself.

**Wadjet's Tablet – Attribute: ?, Type: ?, Level: ?, ATK/0, DEF/? **

"Impossible! This should only be Solid Vision! But I can't **move**!" Mai exclaimed. Other Marik pointed out that this was a Dark Game ergo everything was real, including the pain that she would feel from attacks; Other Marik commanded his monsters to attack and electricity began to course across the woman's entire body causing my hands to clasp over my mouth as Mai screamed until it finally ended.

**Mai – LP: 2100 – LP: 1300**

**Mai – LP: 1300 – LP: 800**

"Mai! Hang in there!" Jounouchi cried. His face was twisted into one of desperation at seeing someone he cared for so dearly being harmed so cruelly, Mai whispered something but I didn't catch it as that demon gloated over his assault on a defenceless individual; that got Yami to snap at the monster to stop it but the creature refused to listen to the pharaoh as Other Marik had **every **intention of preparing the Sacrifice of Darkness… what the hell was **THAT**?!

"Listen very **closely**. Ra has three Special Abilities! I'll reveal just **one **of them!" Other Marik proclaimed. Ok I might have been hallucinating but I might have been feeling faint upon hearing those words; however the psychopath turned his attention back to the duel as he began to chant in a strange language as veins protruded on his face.

"Guys! Look at that!" Jounouchi called. We did as told and looked at the sphere holding Ra only to see that the light was getting brighter, seeming to be seeping from within the orb and then… it move. The entire sphere appeared to be unfolding from its' containment, I vaguely registered Other Marik claiming Ra obeyed whoever uttered the sacred text and with those words Ra finally merged onto the field.

**Winged Divine Dragon of Ra – Attribute: Divine, Type: Divine-Beast, Level: 10, ATK/?, DEF/?**

**Winged Divine Dragon of Ra – ATK/? – ATK/5400, DEF/? – DEF/3900**

The hovering beast unleashed a roar that rang deep in my ears but – remembering what happened last time – I focused on my sister instead who was staring right at the newly summoned God and didn't seem to be collapsing from her bracelet going completely haywire; Other Marik then announced he would destroy Mai with a single attack from the magnificent God and the monster seemed to be almost giddy with the idea of watching Mai die from the attack.

"Stop it Marik! This match is over! There's no reason to attack her!" Yami protested. However those words went right over the psycho's head as he encouraged the ancient spirit to watch as Mai was sent into darkness and Yami's hatred drawn out because of it. "Marik!" Yami yelled. Once more he was completely ignored as Other Marik revealed his back carried the secret location of Yami's memories known as the Seal of Memories and that lead to despair and pain for generations… the bastard had covered his face as if weeping throughout his speech before bursting into laughter, I **really **hate this guy.

"Like it? That is the trauma that dominates my other self! Darkness robbed him of his freedom and even more darkness was born in his self-pitying heart. And the **pain **and **hatred** that existed within his dark heart… these things belong to **me**! My birth day was when he was ten years old. On the day the Tomb Keeper's Rite was performed on him, his father filled him with pain and sadness… until his heart was so enshrouded that all he wanted to do was die. So in order to survive, in order to keep **living**, he had to create another self. From the moment I was born, I always knew I would take his personality over! But there was one thing which stood in my way, I only switched personalities when he is filled with rage. Rishid, without even knowing, that man sealed me away within the carving on his face and sealed **his **anger along with it. I was confined deep inside Marik's heart, but the moment he fell unconscious, I **am finally **the **ruler** of this body!" Other Marik ranted.

"What do you want?! The God Cards? Or…," Yami questioned. He didn't finish his sentence as Other Marik took over and claimed that he had no needs but did admit that he basically want to destroy the entire world; ok yeah… I'm definitely feeling faint right now, this guy was beyond psychotic, beyond anything that could be defined with actually words

"Is it bad that I'm starting to feel sorry for the Real Marik having to lug this madman around for years?" I asked. No one gave me a response so I couldn't know how they felt about this, but they might have been as equally confused about how to feel towards the boy who'd been submerged by this monster, I won't deny that Marik did bad things, things which I'd probably never forgive him for, but at least he had a shred of sanity unlike this feral demon before us.

Other Marik then turned his attention back to attack Mai, this caused Jounouchi to bolt forward over to the other side and demanded for the referee to stop the duel but when he was refused, Jounouchi proceeded to leap up onto the platform – completely disregarding any warnings from others about being disqualified – and the blonde boy appeared in front of Mai as Other Marik commanded his God to attack the trapped woman.

Ra began to charged up an orb of flames within its' mouth as everyone around me called out to the woman whilst my voice remained lodged in my throat unable to make even the tiniest of squeaks; Jounouchi started pulling on cuffs sealing her to the stone, however Mai said something which got him to stop and look at her yet Mai was speaking too quietly for me to heard anything.

However Jounouchi eventually reached his hands out to cup the woman's face in his hands and began to try an jog the woman's memories even **finally **admitting the truth about his dream to the woman claiming he owed her a huge debt for helping him to stand back up; I saw Mai's eyes widened and she cried out the blonde's name in shock.

"HOW THE HELL?!" Me and Kylie exclaimed. I'd never seen someone undo the effects of a Shadow Game without the usage of magic **and** over an extended period of time, Mai spotted Ra's attack charging and order Jounouchi to run but he stubbornly refused to do so and promptly got back to tugged on the cuffs to free her.

"Oh! Fuck this!" Kylie yelled. In the next moment my sister was clambering up onto the platform and put herself in front of the two blondes causing everyone to yell out the red head's name whilst Other Marik grinned widely upon seeing her reckless action but she didn't respond and instead raised her hands causing a silvery barrier to flicker into place around the three of them. "Get Mai free Jounouchi! I'll hold off Ra's attack as long as possible!" Kylie ordered.

"Pointless actions Consort! Go! Winged Divine Dragon of Ra! God Blaze Cannon!" Other Marik commanded. The fiery blaze flew forward and impacted hard against the barrier causing several spiderwebbing cracks to appear on the surface as my sister took a step back to maintain her stance despite the buckling present in her knees and arms, a bead of sweat curved down her face as she gritted her teeth together tightly.

In the next moment Yami was in front of my sister as the fiery orb shatter the barrier and smashed into the ancient spirit causing the three to cry out his name as Other Marik proceeded to gloat over this fact however Yami swore to withstand all of the monster's hatred and pain whilst sending him back to the darkness from which he was born but the monster wasn't even phased by this claim and simply threatened to reduce Yami and the Millennium Puzzle to nothingness.

Eventually the attack faded and Yami proceeded to collapse onto my sister who sunk to her knees as everyone called up to the ancient spirit who appeared to be unconscious, not that I blame him from the immense power of the attack that he had taken just now I was fairly certain that Yami only lived because Ra had managed to pull its' attack strength back at the last second.

**Mai – LP: 800 – LP: 0**

"In Ra's attacks just now, the woman lost all her Life Points. It's game over. Hey referee! Call my name and announce the winner already! And **loudly**, if you will!" Other Marik spat. The referee listened and proceeded to call Other Marik as the winner causing everything to fade away as the monster approached the two, Kylie immediately pulled Yami closer to her as she put a small barrier up around the man she held. "Don't fear Consort I will destroy Yugi in a Duel. In a match most befitting those chosen by the Millennium Items… in the Ultimate Dark Game," Other Marik gloated.

"Yami! His name is Yami!" Kylie snarled. Suddenly Jounouchi became wrapped in a golden light which caused him to go still allowing Other Marik to walk passed him to kneel by Mai after threatening to kill Jounouchi when he wished to; the monster then proceeded to take Ra back from the woman and claimed she would regret escaping with her life. "GET AWAY FROM HER!" Kylie bellowed.

I threw up my hand alongside Kylie doing the same and we both sent out a wave of protective energy towards Mai's mind in order to keep her safe from this bastard's torture; however we weren't able to do so, the psychopath had apparently anticipated this as he crackled Kylie across the skull causing her to drop to the floor before pulling out the top part of his Millennium Rod and threw it at me.

A screech of pain came from me and I looked over to see that the eye of the Rod was attached to a dagger which was now sticking out of my left shoulder, reaching up I pulled it out as tears gathered in my eyes at the pain, throwing the eye in some random direction I promptly pressed my Gauntlet clad hand right against the wound in order to stem the bleeding; Other Marik took back the head and used its' power to banish Mai's mind to the Shadow Realm.

Mai collapsed to the floor as Jounouchi demanded answers from the demon torturing us who explained that Mai would suffer loneliness and in the end of it she wouldn't remember a thing, not even her **reason** for existing, and she'd never return to the realm of consciousness again; although that accursed beast did admit that beating him would possibly restore Mai's mind.

"How much are you going to hurt my friends!? I'll **kill** you Marik! I'll kick you sorry ass!" Jounouchi yelled. He appeared able to move now but was still holding him back from throttling the demon standing before him, however the monster wasn't fazed by this as he swore to drown Jounouchi in darkness soon enough before he proceeded to march off.

Once gone everyone scurried onto the platform with Honda and Jounouchi tending to Mai as Anzu and Otogi tried to rouse Yami whilst me and Shizuka fretted over Kylie who eventually came back around and pressed a hand to the knot that was forming on her head from where she'd been struck, Kylie glanced at Mai before sneering at the sight of her state.

"I'm going to kill him, I swear I'll kill Marik for this," Kylie snarled. Kylie then noticed the dyed red clothing on my shoulder and paled instantly, before pulling me into a death grip hug whilst avoiding my injury; Yami eventually came back around and was informed of Mai's condition before noticing the damage caused to Kylie and me which seemed to enrage him even more.

"Kylie! Katherine!" Seto called. We proceeded to look over at the man with confused expression on our faces as to what the man wanted. "I can give you a thirty minute break, maximum, to get yourselves sorted before the next lottery draw," Seto stated. He then proceeded to walk away from the arena to where the Bingo machine was located.

"I think that's Kaiba's way of saying tend to your wounds first," Honda guessed. Agreeing to those words Kylie staggered to her feet whilst gripping my hand as Honda and Jounouchi lifted Mai up and, like a funeral procession, we walked back to the infirmary.


	33. Chapter 33

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback, or something in another language.**

**I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 33: - Seeing Through

We returned to Mai's room who was gently placed onto her bed as my right hand was pressed against Katherine's shoulder whilst her right hand rested on my temple as glowing light surrounded us, indicating the healing magic that we were using on each other to deal with these infernal wounds; I was going to let Other Marik have it for daring to stab my little sister.

"Ok, that's pretty impressive," Anzu admitted. I dropped my arm which had gone slightly numb from the prolonged use of magic as Katherine did the same although hers' wasn't anywhere near as bad as mine since I only had a hit to the head which – thankfully – hadn't caused internal bleeding or a concussion compared to Katherine's shoulder being stabbed completely through.

"We need to go to the lobby but I don't feel right leaving Mai alone like this," Katherine admitted. Everyone turned their attention to Mai and I gritted my teeth together tightly, just how many people were going to be rendered unconscious because of this tournament and why couldn't we have dealt with Marik and his psychotic side without putting any of our friends in this kind of danger.

"I'll stay with her," Shizuka offered. We all turned to look at the auburn haired girl surprised by the offer she had made but perhaps the girl had developed a fondness for the blonde woman, everyone agreed to this and so we took off to where the lobby was finding that Seto, Other Marik and even Rhodonite were stood there and she was firing a piercing glare at the monster there.

"Alright we will now decide the match up for the fourth Duel," Isono announced. The machine started causing everyone to focus on it except for Rhodonite which surprised me as I wondered why on earth she would attend but not watch the choice occur. "Number Ten, Rhodonite Elony," Isono revealed. My eyes widened as I looked at the man before looking back at the woman who was already walking away from the lobby.

"I only came out of politeness, I already knew my opponent as my lady had informed me," Rhodonite commented. Everyone stared after the gem named woman who walked to the doorway with her red dress flowing behind her slightly as she walked; however at that moment Other Marik let out a mirthless chuckle before locking his empty gaze on the departing woman.

"Oh… and here I thought you were mine," Other Marik commented. Without missing a beat as she continued walking out, Rhodonite coldly commanded the creature to die causing a sick smirk to rest on the demon's face; tearing my gaze away from the tension building conversation that had occurred I focused my eyes on the machine that was churning out the opponent.

"Number Nine, Kylie Hope," Isono announced. Understanding what was coming I pulled out my deck and inserted it into the disk as I let out a breath; in truth I still didn't know what kind of deck Rhodonite actually used since she seemed to have very little connection to the cards she used unlike her sister; turning around I began to head off to the sky arena.

"Kylie, I'm going to look after Mai. I might be able to bring her back," Katherine called. Turning my head back I smiled and nodded in understanding upon seeing the fierce look in my sister's eyes, with that done I went off upon arrival at the arena I immediately stepped into position as I looked at the woman standing across from me; once everyone arrived with Seto and Mokuba choosing to stand with the others instead of being anywhere near Other Marik, the duel was started.

**Kylie – LP: 4000**

**Rhodonite – LP: 4000**

"You don't mind if I go first do you?" Rhodonite asked. I shrugged my shoulders in response so she took the liberty of taking the first move by drawing her card which she looked at before immediately swapping it out for a different card. "I activate the effect of the Deviritual Talismandra in my hand!" Rhodonite announced. Every seemed to be shocked by this announcement since it was rather unexpected and even I was wary since effects weren't normally activated in that manner.

"Hey that's cheating!" Jounouchi argued. However Rhodonite didn't react to the accusation as she lifted a card from her hand and proceeded to flip it around revealing a Ritual Monster and I noticed that the name of the monster was Ruin, Angel of Destruction. "Um… what's she doing?" Jounouchi wondered. The gem stone names woman smiled at this before a card was spat out from her deck which she picked up.

"By activating Talismandra's effect and revealing a Ritual Monster in my hand, I'm allowed to Special summon Talismandra from my hand and another Deviritual monster from my deck and the monster I choose to join Talismandra is Deviritual Candoll, both in defence mode!" Rhodonite explained. She played the two monster onto the field causing a strange little candle with two faces and a plant creature with a necklace to appear on the field.

**Deviritual Candoll – Attribute: Light, Type: Flame, Level: 4, ATK/0, DEF/0**

**Deviritual Talismandra – Attribute: Dark, Type: Plant, Level: 4, ATK/0, DEF/0**

"Next I activate Candoll's Special Effect which allows me to add one Ritual Magic card from my deck to my hand," Rhodonite explained. Another card was forced out from her deck allowing the woman to pick it up and add it to her hand. "I set one card face down and with that I end my turn," Rhodonite stated. I wasn't liking how this was looking, especially since I knew she had a Ritual Magic and Monster in her hand which she could have used yet which was unsettling to say the least.

"Ha! She's not that good, all she got out of that was a couple of cards and two weakling monsters," Honda commented. He really didn't understand what those simple moves had allowed her to accomplish as she'd easily set up her move for the next turn and she was perhaps also prepared for a few turns after that; I drew my first card as I ran over the strategies that I could make to derail Rhodonite's plans.

"I summon Lupus in attack mode!" I announced. The card was set down on my disk causing the star constellation to appear before the physical form of my monster appeared; a beautiful brown coated with splatters of silvery grey canine that was smaller than my Canis monster, the luminous grey eyes locked on the two monsters across from us as shining and sharp teeth glinted menacingly.

**Lupus – Attribute: Light, Type: Beast, Level: 3, ATK/1200, DEF/1400**

"Now Lupus attack Deviritual Candoll! Star Bite!" I commanded. The brown-grey dog bounded across the field and pinned the wriggling candle to the floor before ripping its' holographic form to shreds and leaping back to crouch in front of me; of course since the monster had been in defence that meant Rhodonite kept all her Life Points. "I then set two cards face down and end my turn," I finished.

"Well then, my turn," Rhodonite calmly. She drew her card but didn't even spare it a glance as she promptly slid it into her hand and plucked out another card, it was not the card she'd got from Candoll's effect. "Before I start the Ritual, I activate my face down card! Continuous Magic, Samsara Transmigration! This Magic card causes all monsters that are released for a Ritual Summon to return to my deck which is then shuffled," Rhodonite revealed. The card projected a small box but this presented an incredible problem as it meant that she wouldn't lose any monsters letting her continually perform Rituals.

"Now I activate the Ritual Magic, Endless of the World. This card allows me to summon out Ruin, Goddess of Destruction or demise, King of Armageddon. Since Ruin, Angel of Destruction becomes the Goddess of Destruction via her own effect when in the hand or on the field I can release my Level Four Deviritual Talismandra to summon her," Rhodonite revealed. A plaza that seemed to be fading away into light appear when the Ritual was activated and it immediately swallowed up the startled monster.

However a light then shot from the plaza to box as Rhodonite proceeded to slide the card back into her deck which was promptly shuffled, in the plant creature's place emerged a pretty silver haired girl garbed in red and black, yet within her shadow I noticed that there seemed to be a male form flicking in and out of view.

**Ruin, Angel of Destruction – Attribute: Light, Type: Angel/Ritual, Level: 4, ATK/1700, DEF/1000**

**Ruin, Goddess of Destruction – Attribute: Light, Type: Angel/Ritual, Level: 4, ATK/1700, DEF/1000**

"Now Ruin! Attack Lupus!" Rhodonite commanded. The girl twirled the staff that she held before leaping forward and bringing the staff swinging towards Lupus' head so I immediately hit the button on my disk causing the Trap I'd set to activate and immediately Lupus let out a howl before turning back into his starry form and lines of light connected the glowing orbs forming a net which not only caught Ruin's weapon but also forcibly dragged the girl back to her side of the field and enclosed it. "What just happened!?" Rhodonite exclaimed.

"Constellation Prison. This Trap card activates by releasing one monster and it prevents you from attacking for three turns," I explained. A frown appeared on the gem named woman's face upon hearing that limit, however it would also potentially give her a chance to organise for a comeback; although I would give it my best effort to prevent her from getting out a stronger Ritual monster given that Ruin had two more forms.

Rhodonite proceeded to end her turn and so I drew my card and looked at it whilst analysing the possibilities that lay before me in order to win this duel, however a sudden fuzziness tickled at my mind and I placed a hand against my head as the cards in my hand seemed to blur in and out of focus as I blinked my eyes.

"Kylie! Are you ok?!" Otogi's voice called. Whatever had started messing with my head seemed to suddenly fade away and I could actually see my cards now; whatever had occurred certainly **wasn't **of the Shadow Realm or Millennium Item variety of magic but it was definitely magical and I had to restrain a glare at Rhodonite since she was the only other person here that had any magical abilities.

"Playing games?" I tersely questioned. The woman actually had the gall to cock her head to the side and look at me with an innocent questioning gaze in her deep red eyes. "Don't act coy with me. I know you have magic, I also know you were the one to put the Enchantments over Yugi's side of the anchor death match. So the real question is what are you up to?" I hissed. Rhodonite dropped the act before coyly smiling at me.

"Perhaps, but don't worry, it won't hurt you or leave you in a coma… simply put things in perspective so to speak," Rhodonite answered. My eyebrows furrowed together at those words; what could the woman possibly mean with those words, it didn't make any sense as to what could possibly be 'put into perspective'. "It's your move," Rhodonite reminded. I proceeded to suck in a deep breath before gripping one card.

"I summon Gemini in attack mode!" I announced. The twined sorceress appeared on the field their mischievous smiles stretched across their faces, however I wasn't going to be using their Special Effect this time around; giving a Ritual Summoner more monsters was an **extraordinarily **foolish move to make in a duel.

**Gemini – Attribute: Dark, Type: Magician, Level: 4, ATK/1800, DEF/1600**

"Gemini attack Ruin, Angel of Destruction with Twined Magical Blast!" I commanded. The crackling blue orb flew from my twined magicians' linked hands towards the silver haired maiden and she fruitlessly attempted to block the attack with her staff but it smashed through the weapon and straight into her torso shattering the girl into pieces.

**Rhodonite – LP: 4000 – LP: 3900**

"I set one card face down and end my turn," I announced. I slid a card into my disk just as the fuzziness reappeared in my head and it seemed to be even stronger than before, then it swiftly faded away and I locked my verdant gaze onto the carmine orbs that were looking at me. "I might not know what you're up to but don't think you'll be able to defeat me," I snarled. Rhodonite however didn't appear the least bit concerned by my words.

"Defeat you? Whilst an entertaining idea, not my true end goal… Princess," Rhodonite commented. Those words actually had my mouth unhinge as I blinked wildly at the word that the gem named woman had actually used in reference to me; first Consort and now Princess, how many titles were these people going to label me with. "My turn! Draw!" Rhodonite announced. A curl of a smile resting on her face as she pulled a card from her deck which she immediately looked at proceeded to put into play. "I summon Witch of Paradise Lost in defence mode!" Rhodonite announced.

**Witch of Paradise Lost – Attribute: Dark, Type: Angel, Level: 4, ATK/100, DEF/2000**

"When Witch of Paradise Lost is Normal Summoned, I'm allowed to add a Forbidden Instant Magic card to my hand," Rhodonite revealed. A card was flung out from her deck and she slipped it into her hand, I wondered what she would attempt to do with that card but I had to be concerned with the monster currently protecting Rhodonite. "I set one card face down and end my turn," Rhodonite finished. My lips pulled into a frown as I attempted to figure out what the woman was up to.

"Alright then, my turn!" I announced. Pulling a card from my deck I proceeded to look over the options that were available to me, I had to blast passed that strong Wall monster in order to deal more damage to the woman, whether it was getting a stronger monster onto the field or if I could power up my Gemini; suddenly a light began to shine from Rhodonite's field, attracting my attention as I saw that Witch of Paradise Lost was engulfed in light.

"The effect of Witch of Paradise Lost activates!" Rhodonite revealed. My teeth pushed down hard against each other as that effect could be anything which might be anything such as bolstering her ranks, acquiring necessary cards, stripping away my Life Points, stealing cards from my deck or banishing monsters from the game which I had no way of remedying. "During your Main Phase, I can Release the Witch in order to Special Summon another Level four Angel type Monster that isn't the Witch of Paradise Lost. I release the Witch to bring out Holy Maiden of Paradise Lost in defence mode!" Rhodonite revealed. The new monster appeared on the field with her on her knees and tears were bubbling at the corners of her eyes.

**Holy Maiden of Paradise Lost – Attribute: Light, Type: Angel, Level: 4, ATK/100, DEF/2000**

"Now Holy Maiden's effect activates! Allowing me to play an Instant Magic from my hand! I activate Forbidden Holy Robe and until the end of the turn Holy Maiden cannot be targeted or destroyed by **any **card effects!" Rhodonite announced. She slid the card into the disk as she spoke causing a white robe to replace the dark cloak that the female monster had previously been wearing. "Of course she does lose six hundred attack points as a down side," Rhodonite added on as a complete after thought.

**Holy Maiden of Paradise Lost – ATK/100 – ATK/0**

'Intriguing move, she clearly doesn't want me to destroy that monster, could that mean she's setting up for something… possibly another Ritual Summon or an Advance Summon or maybe even Fusion Summon.' I thought. Looking over my options I decided on the move that I had to make and proceeded to pluck the first card I needed for my tactic free from my hand.

"I summon Chamaeleon in defence mode!" I announced. The stars appeared and around them a reptilian creature appeared curled in on its' form, its' scaled surface shifted and changed colour every few seconds as its' beady black eyes danced all across the field; at least with a secondary monster on the field I would be able to keep protecting myself if things went badly.

**Chamaeleon – Attribute: Earth, Type: Reptile, Level: 4, ATK/1400, DEF/1600**

"Next I activate the Magic card Black Pendant in order to raise Gemini's attack power by five hundred points," I announced. The pendant appeared and the two female magicians proceeded to start pulling it in one direction or the other whilst snarling at each other as magical energies crackled over them. "Will you two just hold it!" I snapped. The two women jumped and held onto each other tightly as they stared at me slightly surprised by my snap; their argument had interrupted my thought about what to do regarding the face downs.

**Gemini – ATK/1800 – ATK/2300**

"Well… I might as well do it," I whispered. The two women split from their hug at my words and gave me smiles as they each held onto the cord of the necklace. "Gemini! Attack Holy Maiden of Paradise Lost!" I commanded. The two women proceeded to charge up their attack as I briefly heard the others discussing if this was a smart move to make, however I didn't have any cards that could destroy the face downs and not taking the chance could back fire on me.

"Trap activate! Attack Nullification!" Rhodonite announced. The swirling barrier appeared preventing the attack from breaching it and ending the battle phase so I proceeded to end my turn my setting two cards face down, I can only hope that I'd be able to stave off whatever attack was bound to be coming for me now that Constellation Prison was gone. "I guess it's my move now! Draw!" Rhodonite commented. She proceeded to pull a card free and she looked it over before smiling slightly as she looked back at me.

"Well now we can get this started," Rhodonite commented. My muscles tightened in response to those words whilst Gemini looked at each other worried before turning to cast a worried glance at me whilst Chamaeleon turned a deep shade of blue in order to represent its' own concern over those words. "First I activate the Magic card, Resurrection of the Dead in order to bring back Ruin, Angel of Destruction!" Rhodonite announced. The silver haired girl leapt back onto the field but I had to wonder why she had been brought back. "I then activate Cyclone in order to destroy Samsara Transmigration," Rhodonite announced. The swirling winds tore apart the box caused me to stare in confusion at that rather odd choice of action.

"Why would you do that?" I wondered. Rhodonite didn't both to answer my question but I figured that one of her monsters had an effect that activated from the grave and Samsara Transmigration wouldn't have let her send it to the graveyard so long as it was on the field, I let out a breath as I waited for what was no doubt going to come for me and my monster partners, Rhodonite slid the card into her Magic and Trap zone.

"I Sacrifice Ruin, Angel of Destruction and Holy Maiden of Paradise Lost! This activates the Ritual Magic, End of The World to summon Ruin, Goddess of Destruction!" Rhodonite announced. Unlike the last card, this one fitted its' darker title as it displayed a town being destroyed by a blast of bluish-white light that swallowed the two monster with the young Ruin grinning widely whilst Holy Maiden simply sat there.

Appearing in their place was an adult version of Ruin with longer silver hair and a red and black dress with some creams pieces attached to it, her weapon had changed into a sort of strange great axe/staff combination; just like in the previous version, the shadow of the silver hair lady contained another form – noticeably demonic this time around – that seemed to flicker in and out of sight on occasion.

**Ruin, Goddess of Destruction – Attribute: Light, Type: Angel/Ritual, Level: 8, ATK/2300, DEF/2000**

"Now Ruin! Attack and destroy Chamaeleon!" Rhodonite commanded. The woman raised her weapon and proceeded to swing it downwards causing the attack to soar straight towards the reptile and so I reached my hand towards the disk. "Don't bother!" Rhodonite commanded. My hand froze up and I looked at the woman seeing that her gemstone eyes were hard and almost cold like in the back lighting of her monster's attack. "Thanks to Angel of Destruction's effect in the graveyard by selecting one Ritual monster you can't use cards or effects until its' attack is over!" Rhodonite revealed. Powerless to stop my monster's destruction I breathed an apology to Chamaeleon as the attack tore it apart.

"Now normally when the Goddess destroys a monster she can attack again, however given that they have the same attack… it does seem pointless to do so," Rhodonite stated. She didn't set a face down card but she did have a limited hand at the moment so she might have been trying to conserve cards for her next move.

I placed my hand on my deck and maybe to draw but something happened; the world around me started to swim in and out of focus and I found it incredibly difficult to focus as my balance went unsteady, the magic that was what was affecting me so badly… the magic that Rhodonite was using appeared to be channelled through Ruin but what was it doing.

"My apologises Kylie Hope, but before everyone came up here… I'd made preparations for something that you need to see," Rhodonite commented. Immediate cries erupted from where my friends stood as I had the vague sensation of Andromeda trying to reach me however nothing seemed to be getting through to my mind as everything simply became clouded and more disturbed..

"_Awaken child!_" A deep voice boomed. That voice startled me back to my senses however that only left me more confused than before as I'd somehow vanished from the Battle Ship and instead I was now stood atop what appeared to be a palace that towered over a desert in which a town lay, my mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.

"Well then," Rhodonite's soft voice spoke. I snapped my head in her direction and found that she was there as well, despite the fact that no one else was present at this scene. "Time for you to see," Rhodonite admitted. My lips pressed tightly together as I gripped the top card of my deck and almost ripped it forth.

Whatever the hell this was, I **intended **to win.


	34. Chapter 34

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback, or something in another language.**

**Thank you to Guest for your review, I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 34: - Requiem of the Heart

Looking at the card I'd drawn I passed it into my hand as I proceeded to flick my gaze around, I had definitely somehow been transported to a desert country but that wasn't anything distinctive in my sight that could help me identify my location nor could I see the clothing that the people moving down below wore which meant identification that way, wasn't possible.

"What have you done? Where are we?" I demanded. Rhodonite turned her gaze out to the land that way before us as she reached out her hand causing an orb of purple mana to appear within her palm before she twisted her fingers around it causing the magic to blink out. "Do **you**, even know what you did?" I questioned. Rhodonite snapped her head back to face me as a stony mask came onto her expression.

"I do know what I've done. I've transported our minds back to an ancient time in order to show you something important. Something my family **and **my family **alone **have protected for three thousand years. Our bodies are still at the Battle Ship dueling," Rhodonite answered. Sadly her words only served to confuse me even more than before, but I needed to end this duel in order to end the magic and that started by destroying Ruin.

"My turn! I summon Taurus in defence mode!" I announced. The celestial bull appeared on the field knelt down with his' horns pointed forward as if waiting for an attack to come rushing at me, I had to leave Gemini in attack mode as that meant I'd still have someone on the field to protect me since Rhodonite wouldn't risk sacrificing Ruin just to breach my defences. "I set one card face down and end my turn!" I finished.

**Taurus – Attribute: Earth, Type: Beast, Level: 3, ATK/1500, DEF/1300**

"Intriguing… my turn. I place one card face down! Now Ruin, Goddess of Destruction attack that Taurus and destroy it!" Rhodonite commanded. The silver hair woman rushed forward at great speed despite the long skirt that she wore, Taurus stood his ground but before reaching my beast, Ruin stopped and leapt into the air as she cleaved her weapon through my monster destroying it, Ruin jumped backwards to stand before her chosen one.

"_Um… Lady Kylie we don't mean to push you but, this is looking a little dangerous,_" Gemini spoke. Their voices overlapping and echoing yet in perfect harmony with each other, my monster's concern was right as unless I got a strong enough monster out and soon, I would eventually give Rhodonite the opportunity to raise Ruin's attack or get out a stronger version allowing her to attack safely.

"I know ladies, don't worry. We won't lose," I calmed. The two women looked at each other uncertainty still swirling in their eyes but they decided to have faith in me as they turned their attention back to the matter at hand. "Alright then. It's my turn!" I declared. Looking at my card I knew exactly the course of action I had to take at this moment so I took a deep breath before activating one of my face downs. "I activate the Magic card, Cost Down, by discarding one card I can lower the level of all monsters in my hand by two for the remainder of the turn!" I declared.

**Gemini – ATK/2300 – ATK/1800**

"Why do that?" Rhodonite asked. That didn't surprise me as it would seem to be an illogical move to make but it was a necessary action that had to be taken in order for me to make a move forward in this duel; I pulled out the next card that I intended to use in this tactic of mine, I could only hope that it would work to remove the troublesome monster barring my path.

"You'll see. Now that the levels of my monsters have been lowered, I'm allowed to summon out Corona Australis without a sacrifice in attack mode," I announced. As I played her card, the feminine auroral monster appeared on the field and my deck began to glow with a rainbow light in response to its' presence. "If you recall our last duel when Australis or Borealis is on the field the counterpart is automatically summoned from my deck!" I added on. The masculine aurora appeared causing pressure to begin hanging around the area.

**Corona Australis – Attribute: Light, Type: Angel, Level: 6, ATK/2000, DEF/1700**

**Corona Borealis – Attribute: Light, Type: Angel, Level: 6, ATK/2000, DEF/1700**

**Corona Australis – Level: 6 – Level: 4**

"Now Gemini, my friend I'm sorry, attack Ruin, Goddess of Destruction with Twined Blast!" I commanded. The two women looked at me with understanding shining within their eyes before snapping their heads forward as they grinned mischievously whilst the magical energy gathered before them which they shot at the silver haired woman opposing us.

"No chance! I activate my Trap, Breakaway!" Rhodonite commanded. My opponent pulled a card out and slid it into the graveyard as Ruin whipped her weapon up as a barrier appeared that caused the attack to stop dead in its' tracks and separated into waves of energy. "Break Away activates during your turn and by discarding a Magic card, I'm allowed to end the battle phase and all monsters on the field have their effects negated for the remainder of the turn," Rhodonite explained. My lips pressed tightly against each other at still having Ruin around but I was at least prepared for my next turn.

**Corona Australis – Level: 4 – Level: 6**

"First of I activate the Equip Magic, Fulfilment of the Contract! This allows me to summon back a Ritual Monster from my graveyard so long as I pay eight hundred Life Points in exchange," Rhodonite started. As there was only one Ritual Monster in her graveyard, that meant that was the only one capable of being summoned back. "Return to me Ruin, Angel of Destruction!" Rhodonite commanded. The silver haired maiden leapt back onto the field with a grin on her face.

**Rhodonite – LP: 3900 – LP: 3100**

"Now I activate a second Endless of the World! This card allows me to summon Ruin, Queen of Destruction or Demise, King of Armageddon!" Rhodonite announced. Just like last time a town plaza surrounded Rhodonite's side of the field. "I sacrifice Ruin, Angel of Destruction and Ruin, Goddess of Destruction in order to summon Ruin, Beautiful Goddess of Destruction!" Rhodonite finished. The two silver haired females flew into the plaza's shadowed area which caused a light to burst forth revealing a more elegantly dressed version of Ruin with the same strange shadow in the background. "Just like Angel, Beautiful Goddess is treated as the traditional Ruin," Rhodonite added on.

**Ruin, Beautiful Goddess of Destruction – Attribute: Light, Type: Angel/Ritual, Level: 10, ATK/2900, DEF/3000**

**Ruin, Goddess of Destruction – Attribute: Light, Type: Angel/Ritual, Level: 10, ATK/2900, DEF/3000**

"Now Beautiful Goddess, attack Gemini!" Rhodonite commanded. The more powerful version proceeded to launch an attack at my Gemini and whilst I reached out to one of my face downs to protect her, Gemini wrapped their hands wrapped around my wrist which caused me to pause suddenly as I looked at them with smiles on their face as they released their grip and accepted the devastating attack.

**Kylie – LP: 4000 – LP: 3400**

"With Gemini's destruction Black Pendant is also destroyed and you suffer five hundred points of damage," I retaliated. As my monster was destroyed, the dark necklace hung in the air for a few moments before it shattered into pieces and then flew forward and buried their holographic pieces into my opponent's form, Rhodonite had flung up her arms in order to defend herself from the onslaught.

**Rhodonite – LP: 3900 – LP: 3400**

"That hardly matters! With Ruin's effect, if she destroys a monster then you take damage equal to the monster's original attack points, be lucky your monster wasn't originally much stronger," Rhodonite added on. Beautiful Goddess spun her weapon around and then flung it down towards me causing my arms to get sent up and I even summoned a magical barrier in order to help protect myself from the injuries.

**Kylie – LP: 3400 – 1600**

"Also, since all monsters used to summon Ruin, Beautiful Goddess of Destruction were Ritual Monsters, she is allowed to make a second attack," Rhodonite revealed. The silver haired woman proceeded to rush forward with her weapon prepared to attack however this time I wasn't going to let such a thing happen and immediately hit one of my face downs in order to activate it.

"Trap, activate! Attack Nullification!" I announced. The attack was negated causing the woman to return to her side of the field as I let out a breath of relief whilst the pressure surrounding me seemed to have lightened suddenly, meaning that my own monsters were just as relieved that they hadn't been destroyed during this turn; as Rhodonite ended her turn, that meant that I just had to finish making my move on this coming turn in order to win this duel.

"_Come now Pharaoh… he shall return… never failed before_," An eerie voice spoke suddenly. In reaction I whipped my head around attempting to find the source of the voice but I couldn't find anyone else on this balcony with us; glancing at my Coronas I saw that they were also surprised by the suddenness of the voices… that voice had said Pharaoh which meant I'd been transported to ancient Egypt.

"This is the time when Yami ruled isn't it?" I questioned although it sounded more like a statement. Rhodonite smiled and nodded her head to show that I was right, but the true question was what possible secret could have been kept from the Tomb Keepers that Rhodonite felt the need to reveal to me. "Alright then, let's see what's coming then. I draw!" I announced. The card came forth with a rush of chilling warmth causing a smile to break across my face at this fact.

"First I activate my face down card! Magic Card, Pre-Preparation of Rites! This card lets me add a Ritual Magic to my hand along with a Ritual Monster whose name is mentioned on the card!" I announced. The two cards where effected and so I drew them and placed one of them into my hand as I proceeded to remove another card. "I activate the Ritual Magics, Vermillion Bird and White Tiger!" I continued. Immediately the flaming spiral sprang to life just to my left as a tree rose up behind me with the iridescent colours of autumn leaves covering its' branches.

"To Suzaku I sacrifice Corona Australis and the Ursa Minor in my hand whilst to Byakko I sacrifice Corona Borealis and the Canis Minor in my hand in order to summon them to the field!" I declared. The spiralling flames reached out to seize one aurora whilst branches of rustling leaves entrapped the other as I slid the two cards in my hand into the graveyard. "Come forth Guardian of the South, Suzaku! And Guardian of the West, Byakko!" I added on. The radiant bird erupted from the flames whilst a thunderous roar echoed from behind me as a form leapt over my head.

Landing on all four was a towering white tiger with a series of stripes coursing the body that seemed to change from red to orange then yellow and back again, he also had a long tail that swished about yet the fur looked more like leather armour with how stiff it appeared to be yet still very flexible; claws that appeared like solid gold scraped the stone beneath his gigantic paws as the massive feline tossed his head about allowing me to see the soul piercing blue eyes he had.

**Guardian of the South, Suzaku – Attribute: Fire, Type: Avian Beast/Ritual, Level: 8, ATK/2900, DEF/2700**

**Guardian of the West, Byakko – Attribute: Earth, Type: Beast/Ritual, Level: 8, ATK/3000, DEF/2500**

Rhodonite looked slightly pale as she stared at the monster that had been held captive by her not too long ago and judging by the tense posture that Byakko held, he most certainly remembered her as a low thundering roar bubbled around us; as for Suzaku he simply flapped his wings causing warmth to radiate from him with each flap apparently unconcerned about seeing his captor's sister once more.

"Guardian of the West, Byakko attack Ruin, Beautiful Goddess of Destruction with Claw of Metal!" I commanded. The tiger roared and proceeded to charge forward and there was nothing that Rhodonite or Ruin could do to stop the attack as Byakko swung his massive claws through his target destroying the woman with a single swipe and he bounded back to me, however a quick glance around revealed that we were still in the past.

**Rhodonite – LP: 3400 – LP: 3300**

"The spell won't end until my Life Points hit zero, Ruin simply acted as an amplifier for my abilities… you and your sister are rather special in the raw magical power you have. I and Azurite simply had access to more… esoteric magic during our learning, that's the only part we beat you in," Rhodonite explained. My eyes widened at those words, I didn't think me or Katherine were anything truly special but for another Arcane User to say such thing then it was probably true.

"Suzaku attack Rhodonite directly with Heavenly Fire!" I commanded. With a fierce shriek, the phoenix flew towards the woman as flames blazed to life in his wake completely enveloping the woman before the avian banked around and returned to his spot at my side. "I end my turn!" I announced. This entire duel was now riding on the card that my opponent drew next; a Monster, Magic or Trap that didn't end the battle phase or restore Life Points was the best thing I could hope for right now.

**Rhodonite – LP: 3300 – LP: 400**

"My turn!" Rhodonite calmly stated. She placed her fingers on her card and closed her eyes almost as if she was praying, drawing the card forward she'd flung her arm back and proceeded to bring the card to her face as she opened her eyes before raising her gemstone eyes to gaze at me. "Turn End," Rhodonite stated. My eyes widened as the woman gave me a small smile as if to encourage me on.

"My turn," I stated. Drawing the card I didn't even bother to look at it, there was after all no point in knowing what had come to me now. "Byakko attack Rhodonite directly!" I softly ordered. The white tiger bounded forward as the gemstone woman proceeded to brace herself against the massive paw than threatened to send her toppling to the floor from the impact strength that was behind it.

**Rhodonite – LP: 400 – LP: 0**

With that attack Rhodonite proceeded to fade away but the surrounding remained completely solid, yet as Rhodonite faded I saw beyond her to two people who were standing not too far from me; one was a male with tanned skin wearing a white tunic with a light blue sash at the front and a dark blue cloak over it with white sandals, gold ornaments adored his waist, lower legs, upper arms, wrists, neck and forehead however the three things that drew my attention was the black, yellow and red star shaped hair, piercing crimson eyes and the Millennium Puzzle hang around his neck… it was Yami.

Beside him however was a woman who dressed in a pearlescent dress that seemed to shift colours beneath the sun's beating light along with white sandals, unlike her companion she wore no jewellery accept for a silver bracelet secured around her right wrist; her skin was a creamy shade which shouldn't have been possible in Egypt with long sunset red hair that flowed free and sharp green eyes… it couldn't… there was no way… that bracelet… was mine… that figure… was me.

As the doppelganger turned her head to look at me, the spell shattered in an instant and I dropped to my knees heaving in a deep breath; as I did, I stared at Rhodonite who seemed to be fighting off unconsciousness due to her shivering form as her eyes rapidly blinked; my mouth felt like it had been filled with lead as I attempted to sort out my feelings to what I'd just seen.

"Winner! Kylie Hope!" Isono announced. Warm hands gripped my shoulder and I jerked up to see Yami looking at me with a concerned expression on his face, looking over I saw Otogi helping Rhodonite to her feet by looping an arm around her waist and hooking one of her over his shoulder, meanwhile the others were calling out something that I couldn't quite hear as I felt eyes burning into me; glaring in the direction of the look I wasn't surprised to find Other Marik so I weakly flipped him off and pushed myself to my feet although I was shaking like a new born foal.

"She needs to lie down," I croaked out. Otogi looked at me with surprise in his eyes as I attempted to make my way over to the arena edge, however I almost ended up toppling over the edge if it wasn't for Yami and Seto grabbing me on either side and for once the stony façade on the CEO's face fell away revealing true worry in his eyes. "I think I need to lie down too," I added. Seto let go and stepped back however Yami didn't do that.

Instead he proceeded to sweep one hand under my knees whilst the one coiled around my shoulder easily lifting me in his arms like a princess causing me to let out a squeak of surprise whilst everyone else seemed to be dumbfounded by the sudden action, however the ancient spirit was completely uncaring as he stepped down and proceeded to enter the elevator with the others following after him.

To claim I was uncomfortable would be an **immense **understatement but Yami didn't seem to be interested in letting me go free so I truly had to just sit and deal with it as the elevator arrive at the main deck, stepping out Yami set a swiftly pace away causing everyone else to fall away and a quick glance at his face displayed a focused expression that normally only appeared in duels so I dropped my gaze to my hands.

"Kylie… what happened to you?" Yami suddenly asked. I snapped my eyes up to him in confusion causing our eyes to lock yet Yami didn't stop himself moving forward. "After Ruin, Goddess of Destruction was summoned, something happened to you and Rhodonite. It looked like you were in some kind of trance, barely speaking unless making your moves," Yami explained. My lips pressed tightly against each other as I tried to think about how to explain what had occurred to me.

"It… is **very **complicated," I admitted. Yami came to a stop and I found that we had arrived outside of my room causing me to shift a little as I wondered what the Pharaoh intended to do in response to my words however Yami's grip didn't waver as he kept his gaze firmly locked onto me which made things even more uncomfortable.

"I have twenty minutes… if that is enough," Yami response. I smiled at that as the door to my room suddenly sprang open.


	35. Chapter 35

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback, or something in another language.**

**Thank you to Guest for your review, I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 35: - Millennium Trial

I had to try **really, really **hard not to have an ear splitting grin on my face at the sight I discovered beyond my sister's doorway, I'd come here in order to see my sister once she'd arrived as me and Shizuka had been able to watch her match up until my sister had nearly collapsed which caused me to bolt out leaving the still unconscious Mai in Shizuka's hands.

"So… are you two going to come?" I coyly asked. The smile was really getting hard to keep down as Yami came carrying my sister into the room; the ancient pharaoh seemed completely relaxed whilst my sister appeared to be turning slightly red and was mouthing a threat to me if I didn't behave myself, glancing at Yugi's spectral form who was stood beside me I saw a near Cheshire Cat-like grin on his face. "What happened to you?" I asked. The smile had dropped from my face as Yami set my sister down on the bed.

"I'm not too sure to be honest. Rhodonite used some old magic to send our minds back in time to Ancient Egypt," Kylie answered quickly. Now when you live with someone, you kind of **have to **learn things about them and I had learned exactly when to tell that my sister was keeping something from me and right now from the rushed tone of her voice and how her eyes stayed fixed on the ceiling as her thumbs twiddled. "She said it was to show me something… but I don't know what it was," Kylie finished.

"Ok… Yami, Yugi do you two think we could get some privacy. Sisterly talk," I requested. The Pharaoh and spectral boy looked at me before engaging in a brief mental conversation which ended with Yami agreeing to me, he proceeded to leave the room with a concerned look cast over his shoulder as I closed the door. "Right," I drawled. Twisting around on my heel I marched over to my sister and planted my hands on my hips as I gave her an intense look. "Spill it," I ordered.

"What are you talking about?" Kylie asked. I proceeded to arched an eyebrow in response to her words, she was **not **going to be pulling the innocent I don't know card in this situation; seeing that I wasn't buying her little act Kylie proceeded to let out an immense sigh as she looked at me. "I'm not getting you to drop this am I?" Kylie asked. I nodded my head to show that she was correct. "Alright. But you're not allowed to tell anyone. **Especially **Yami," Kylie insisted. Her last part had surprised me but I nodded my head in agreement.

"When Rhodonite sent us back in time I learned that it was when Yami was ruling and after defeating Rhodonite… I learned that during that time there… existed a woman… who looked **exactly **like me and even had my bracelet," Kylie admitted. My eyes widened and I felt the energy drain out of me causing my knees to buckle as I dropped onto the bed, I had not been expecting such a revelation and could understand why Kylie seemed to be so shaken by this event.

"Well… um… that's… oh good gods; I know reincarnation is a possibility but… are you absolutely certain, there might have been some flaw that you over looked," I suggested. However Kylie shook her head to indicate that there was no such occurrence in the vision that she had witnessed; I breathed out a heavy sigh at that response as my lips pressed tightly against each other whilst I attempted to think about something.

"Kathie," Kylie whispered. I lifted my head to look at my sister who gently placed a hand on my arm in order to give calming reassurance. "Later. You have to focus on your duel, Azurite or this mystery will no doubt be just as dangerous as Rhodonite. Focus, win and then we'll deal with this alright," Kylie suggested. I didn't like that she was pushing me away right when she needed help but at the same time she was right.

"I'll be back as soon as I win, promise," I answered. Placing my hand over my sister's I stood up and after once last squeeze of my grip I proceeded to leave the room and quickly moved towards the lottery area where everyone had already gathered except for the mystery duelist and my friends gave me nervous looks. "Kylie needs to rest," I explained. They let out a collective sigh and turned back to watch the lottery machine as the numbers were shot out before one was flung out of a Blue-Eyes' mouth.

"Number Eleven, Katherine Hope," Isono announced. My hands twisted together as the balls were catapulted about once more before a second ball came out and Isono picked it up. "Number Twelve, Azurite Elony," Isono revealed. I took in a sharp breath as I cast my eyes at the teal eyed girl who twisted on her heel and proceeded to walk off although I noticed she had a tanned bag slung over her shoulder.

"See you guys up there," I commented. I took off towards the lift and quickly stepped in so that I could get to the platform although I did cast a look at Azurite who remained focused on the doorway out. "How's your sister?" I asked. The question seemed to startle the gem named woman as she jumped slightly before looking down at me with surprise colouring her namesake orbs as she clearly hadn't expected this.

"Yes, she's fine. Like your sister she needs to rest, that kind of magic is a touch draining," Azurite admitted. Her eyes had softened showing that she was truly worried about the current state that Rhodonite was currently in and I could understand her concern but then her eyes hardened as she refocused on me. "I should forewarn you, I'll be putting magic to use in this duel as well," Azurite added.

"What?!" I exclaimed. At that moment the elevator doors sprang open and Azurite swiftly strode out causing me to stumble as I moved to catch up to her but I spotted her trailing purple symbols in the air as we ascended up to the platform, I barely recognised any of the symbols clearly showing the rarity of the magic that Azurite was currently using. "What are you going to do? Send my mind to the past like Kylie?" I questioned.

"Far from it, your mind doesn't need more knowledge. It is your heart that has to be tested," Azurite answered as she dropped the bag to land by her feet. Well the wording that she had used served to confuse me even more than before, however before I could question her even more everyone proceeded to arrive and so our duel was started, I was naturally on edge about what Azurite was going to attempt.

**Azurite – LP: 4000**

**Katherine – LP: 4000**

"My turn! Draw!" I announced. I proceeded to draw a card and looked at it before casting my eyes to the card in my hard so that I could identify the moves that I could potentially make for my opening move, I had to be cautious about what sort of magical attempts Azurite might make during this duel. "I summon Being of Love, Eros in defence mode!" I announced. A young man with light tanned skin, deep entrancing green eyes, strawberry blonde hair that ended at the nape of his neck and a solid jawline; he only wore a pair of linen pants thus exposing his toned physique, large reddish wings spread out behind him as a quiver of arrows hung at his side with a bow in his hands.

**Being of Love, Eros – Attribute: Light, Type: Angel, Level: 3, ATK/1300, DEF/1500**

"I set two cards face down and end my turn," I finished. Whilst I might not have done much during this turn at the very least I'd prepared myself for the trouble that might be coming, Azurite proceeded to draw her own card and look at it with a grin on her face – finally seeming to mesh with the slightly crazy girl from the tag duel – before switching over to a different card which she promptly slid into her Magic/Trap zone.

"I activate the Magic card Endless of the World!" Azurite announced. My eyes widened as the plaza I'd seen in Kylie's duel appear; I hadn't been expecting that card to suddenly pop up but I recalled that the Ruin that Rhodonite had used was actually part of a set with another monster and perhaps that meant Azurite used the other part of that set. "This allows me to Ritual Summon Demise, King of Armageddon or Ruin, Goddess of Destruction. By sacrificing Ritual Djinn Demolisher and Ritual Djinn Release; because of his effect, Demise, Demon of Armageddon is treated as the King when he's in my hand or on the field!" Azurite declared.

From within the plaza emerged the figure I'd seen within the Angel Ruin's shadow clearly demonstrating a connection between the two individuals; this individual was clad in black and white armour leaving absolutely no skin showing with a massive black axe resting against his shoulder as he stared over at my field

**Demise, Demon of Armageddon – Attribute: Dark, Type: Demon/Ritual, Level: 4, ATK/1800, DEF/1000**

**Demise, King of Armageddon – Attribute: Dark, Type: Demon/Ritual, Level: 4, ATK/1800, DEF/1000**

"By the way thanks to Ritual Djinn Demolisher, the monster Ritual Summoned using this card isn't affected by any of your card affects! Now attack Demise!" Azurite commanded. The monster proceeded to swing his axe around as he charged towards Eros prepared to cleave my God in two; however I didn't make a single move to defend him as the axe swung down. "I set one card face down and end my turn," Azurite commented. Although I noticed that she seemed to be rather confused by my lack of action. "Well that was unexpected. I thought you'd do something," Azurite admitted. In response to that I allowed a small smile to grace my face.

"Because I didn't need to. Eros is indestructible in battle and you can't deal piercing damage so there was no need to activate either of my face downs," I stated. Azurite's eyes widened as pink rose petals flooded the field and reformed back into the god previous destroyed; I noticed Eros rolling his shoulder as is to remove any aches in his muscles from the attack. "My turn!" I announced. I drew a card from my deck and proceeded to look at along with what was in my hand.

"I summon Bearer of Youth, Hebe in attack mode!" I announced. The monster appeared on the field, a young girl with long blonde hair that flowered down to her waist, she had vivid blue eyes and bore a white Grecian dress that had ivy coiling up it and in her hands was clay cup stamped with the image of an eagle, the cup seemed to be nearly overflowing with a glowing liquid that couldn't be classified as any one distinct colour.

**Bearer of Youth, Hebe – Attribute: Light, Type: Angel, Level: 3, ATK/1500, DEF/1400**

"Don't bother trying to prepare for another a Special Summon, Ritual Djinn Releaser's effect prevents you from doing so, so long as Demise is present on the field," Azurite informed. I took in a deep breath knowing that this little fact wasn't going to get in my way of making my moves and I was currently prepared to continue with my move this turn.

"Next I activate Hurricane! This returns all Magic and Trap cards on the field to the owner's hand!" I continued on. The swirling winds battered away all of our cards and I saw Azurite pull her lips back into a slight sneer at my actions however I was hardly done yet. "Now I activate the Instant Magic card, Harmonic Bond connecting Hebe and Eros giving Eros' attack and defence to Hebe!" I announced. A glowing yellow light surrounded the two monsters as a result of the card's effect.

**Bearer of Youth, Hebe – ATK/1500 – ATK/2800, DEF/1400 – DEF/2900**

"Now Hebe attack Demise, Demon of Armageddon with Ambrosia Curse!" I declared. Hebe raised the cup high above her head before she tipped it forward slightly causing the glowing liquid to spill forward like a tidal wave as the cup seemed to bottomless, Demise was completely consumed by the liquid despite its' desperate struggles to escape the wave and was eventually turned into fragments.

**Azurite – LP: 4000 – LP: 3000**

"Bloody hell… I should have used Demise's ability but no, Rhodonite's right I really need to use my head more sometimes," Azurite groaned out. Frankly I was quite glad that she hadn't used Demise's ability to destroy Eros otherwise our positions would have been reversed with my Life Points worse off than hers' currently were, taking the chance I replaced my two face downs and ended my turn.

**Bearer of Youth, Hebe – ATK/2800 – ATK/1500, DEF/2900 – DEF/1400**

"Alright, it's my turn!" Azurite announced. She proceeded to draw a card and glanced at it before immediately swapping it out another card which she immediately slid into the Magic and Trap card zone which happened to be the one that I'd previously returned to her hand through the use of Hurricane. "Next I activate the Magic Card, End of The World! Thanks to the Djinn's effect I can banish Demolisher and Releaser along with sending the Ritual Djinn Precogster to the graveyard in order to summon out Demise, King of Armageddon," Azurite announced.

The destructive scene from the Ritual card was presented and it proceeded to swallow up the image of the another Djinn as two more were torn to shreds perhaps to indicate that those were the two monsters who were banished for this ritual; that probably meant that now this Ritual Monster had the two abilities that Demise had thanks to those Djinns alongside another unknown ability.

From within the destructive scene emerged an adult version of Demise, now possessing horns attached to his head with his weapon having also changed into being a massive great axe, the new monster proceeded to stare down at us with a powerful aura radiating off of him causing my monsters to exchange worried looks.

**Demise, King of Armageddon – Attribute: Dark, Type: Demon/Ritual, Level: 8, ATK/2400, DEF/2000**

"Now then I activate Demise's ability! By paying two thousand Life Points I can destroy all other cards on the field!" Azurite announced. I almost cursed upon hearing that declaration although I heard one of the others who were watching this proceeded to make such an exclamation to cover my opinions of the current situation.

**Azurite – LP: 3000 – LP: 1000**

Demise proceeded to lift his great axe up and smacked it against the ground causing cracks to appear in the ground as an eerie blue light proceeded to shroud the axe's heads which Demise lifted up and proceeded to swing around causing waves of blue fire to ring out around us and it swallowed up both of my monsters and all of the face down cards.

"Now Demise, attack Katherine directly!" Azurite commanded. The towering monster proceeded to raise his axe once more and swung it down causing the earth to shake underneath my feet and blue flames surging forward causing me to throw up my arms in order to protect myself from the impact that the flames brought with them although the heat still pressed in slightly.

**Katherine – LP: 4000 – LP: 1600**

Dropping my arms I looked at Azurite who was smiling widely at me before reaching down into a bag that she had brought with her and proceeded to pull out a golden object which she proceeded to place in front of her causing my breath to catch in my throat as I was finally able to see it properly whilst Yami called out to my opponent causing her to look down at him yet no words left her.

"Why do you have that?!" Yami demanded. I wasn't surprised by the deep confusion and worry that had appeared in his tone upon seeing the object that Azurite had pulled out, a golden set of scales with the Eye of Wedjet stamped firmly within the top of the centre stand. "Why are the Millennium Scales in your possession?" Yami asked. That was a perfectly decent question and it even deeply confused me.

"This was just borrowed, the Guardian knows the danger of what would happen if the Millennium Gauntlet fell into the wrong hands. This won't be a Shadow Game Pharaoh, simply a test. If she doesn't pass then the Gauntlet then it will be taken from her," Azurite responded. That still didn't settle my heart as Azurite pulled out a single ostrich feather which she settled into one of the scales.

"When souls of Egyptians appeared before Osiris to be judged, their hearts were weighed against the Feather of Ma'at, impure hearts were devoured by Ammut," I commented. This caused Azurite to actually gently smile at me in response to my words; the implication was quite clear now, I had to somehow prove myself worthy by keeping my heart lighter than the Feather of Ma'at set opposite.

"Alright then, the Gauntlet came to me. There was no way that my mum finding the Gauntlet was sheer chance, it came to me and I will prove that I deserve to keep it. Shadi already knew this when we met in Duelist Kingdom, if he didn't take it then, why now?" I retaliated. Azurite proceeded to stand to her feet as she looked at me with an unclear look within her aquatic eyes.

"How do you know? He could have planned this all along," Azurite suggested. I took a breath and proceeded to settle my hands on the top of my deck as I focused my gaze on the woman, the golden scales glinting from her feet were currently perfectly balanced but I refused to focus on such an oppressive situation for the remainder of the duel.

"Ever take a leap of faith?" I asked. I didn't wait for her to answer as I proceeded to draw the card free from my deck, prepared to prove that the Millennium Gauntlet was something that I deserved to keep a hold of.


	36. Chapter 36

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback, or something in another language.**

**Thank you to Guest for your review, I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 36: - Power of The Gauntlet

"It's my turn!" I declared. Looking over the options that I had available I cast a glance at the imposing form of Demise that hovered just across from me, I had to trust in my deck if I wanted any chance of overcoming the current situation and in order to do that, I had to increase the size of my hand first, fortunately I had just the card to do so. "Since it is my Standby Phase, Bear of Youth, Hebe's effect activates, so long as she is in my graveyard I regain two hundred Life Points!" I revealed. A green light engulfed my form as a result of the effect.

**Katherine – LP: 1600 – LP: 1800**

"Now, I activate the Magic card, Treasure Card From The Heavens. This means that we both draw until we have six cards in our hand," I decided. After drawing the cards, I looked over the options presented to me as my breath slammed to a halt at the two of the cards that were currently in my hand; swallowing thickly I realised exactly what my deck was telling me to do, the only problem was ensuring that all the cards necessary would be able to survive standing against Demise, at the very least – unless Azurite increased her Life Points – I didn't have to worry about its' effect.

"Next I summon Being of Sleep, Hypnos in attack mode!" I announced. A man appeared on my field, he had moon pale skin with blonde hair messed up like an eternal bed head as his hazel eyes drifted shut every now and then before barely being pried open, he wore a rumpled and messy toga with nothing on his feet. "I then set three cards face down and end my turn!" I finished. The three cards appeared as I looked at the two that I kept within my hand knowing that I needed to be careful about protecting them.

**Being of Sleep, Hypnos – Attribute: Dark, Type: Angel, Level: 3, ATK/600, DEF/1700**

A shuddering sound echoed and I looked down at the scales seeing that the two scales were teetering before coming to a halt in the exact same position that they'd started in, I wasn't entirely sure what to make of that little episode but I needed to keep my head focused on winning this duel; I overheard several voices talking about how strange of a move it was for me to make given that any attack would knock me out immediately.

"Haven't you people learned anything yet?!" Kylie's voice snapped. Twisting around to see my sister walking to stand beside my other friends, looking a lot better than she had when I left her before, the others looked at her some with confused looks on their faces whilst Anzu was actually glaring at her. "Katherine doesn't take unnecessary risks, very move it carefully calculated and trusted in," Kylie finished.

"My turn!" Azurite declared. I snapped my attention back to my opponent, I needed to keep an eagle eyed watch on her next move in order to counter for my own strategy to work, Azurite looked at her card before sliding it into Magic and Trap zone but she then proceeded to carefully examine my field before she made her move. "Demise! Attack Being of Sleep, Hypnos!" Azurite commanded. Her towering monster proceeded to raise his axe in order to strike once more.

"Hypnos' effect activates! When attack, Hypnos automatically switches to defence mode and your monster loses two hundred attack and defence points!" I announced. Reaching out I twisted Hypnos' card causing the god to flop on to his side in response to this move, however Demise was still brining his axe down towards my sleeping monster.

"That doesn't matter! Demise isn't affected by card effects!" Azurite retorted. However that wasn't what I was aiming for and instead I immediately activated one of my face down's which happened to be the Trap card, Attack Nullification which successfully stopped the attack since it targeted a specific phase of the duel and not Demise itself. "Very well, I set another card face down and end my turn," Azurite stated.

"My turn! Draw!" I announced. With a small pray in my heart, I pull the card free I looked at it and let out a small sigh of relief since it was a card that would allow me to continue with my strategy. "Once more Hebe's effect raises my Life Points by another two hundred," I reminded. The same green glow appeared around my form.

**Katherine – LP: 1800 – LP: 2000**

"I summon Guardian of Hearths, Hestia in defence mode!" I announced. The monster appeared on the field, she had tanned skin with flaming red hair that matched my sister's own locks and her brown eyes bordered on being as black as coals, her white dress was stained with soot at the base and her hands appeared to be covered in black ash.

**Guardian of Hearths, Hestia – Attribute: Fire, Type: Pyro, Level: 4, ATK/2000, DEF/2500**

"Next I activate one of my face down cards, the Permanent Magic Fire Pit of Olympus. So long as Guardian of Hearths, Hestia is on the field all of my monsters gain three hundred defence points!" I continued on. A blazing fire appeared before Hestia who immediately began to stoke the flames keeping them blazing bright whilst Hypnos curled closer to the flames for their warmth up at these chilling heights. "I end my turn," I decided.

**Being of Sleep, Hypnos – DEF/1700 – DEF/2000**

**Guardian of Hearths, Hestia – DEF/2500 – DEF/2800**

"My turn!" Azurite announced. The woman examined her card before she looked at her hand and she slid it into her hand before reaching for one of her face down cards. "I activate Resurrection of the Dead! Revive Demise, Demon of Armageddon!" Azurite commanded. I immediately tense up as I recalled my sister's duel against Rhodonite and what this action probably meant for the course of this duel.

"Oh… bother. This isn't good," Kylie commented. Azurite allowed her wild smile to stretch onto her face as she proceeded to hit her secondary face down which proceeded to rise up and reveal that it was another Magic card, by the name of Magical Stone Excavation which – in exchange for two cards from the hand – allowed the controller to return a Magic card in their graveyard to the hand.

"The card I choose to bring back is Endless of the World and I activate it immediately!" Azurite announced. The colourful plaza appeared once more on her field as the two demonic creatures proceeded to look back at it. "I sacrifice both of my Demises in order to summon out the strongest member of this group. Demise! The Supreme King of Armageddon!" Azurite declared. The two men were absorbed by the plaza and immediately the ground underneath broke apart.

From within the cracks emerged the strongest version of Demise's group, a towering hulking beast of a warrior, his armour was slightly more elaborate with spikes curving out of his armour as he held onto his massive axe; the pressure that this monster was giving off was enough to cause Hestia's flames to flicker wildly as Hypnos jolted up from his sleep which was normally impossible.

**Demise, Supreme King of Armageddon – Attribute: Dark, Type: Demon/Ritual, Level: 10, ATK/3000, DEF/3000**

**Demise, King of Armageddon – Attribute: Dark, Type: Demon/Ritual, Level: 10, ATK/3000, DEF/3000**

"Now I activate Demise's effect. By paying two thousand Life Points I can destroy as many card on the field as possible and you take two hundred points of damage for each card that you controlled. However since I used only Ritual Monsters to summon Demise, I don't have to pay even one Life Point. Now Demise, demolish her field!" Azurite declared. The imposing monster proceeded to lift up its' axe causing eerie blue flames to encircle the heads and it swung down towards my side of the field.

"Fire Pit of Olympus' secondary effect activates! By destroying this card I can negate the effect and none of my cards can be destroyed for the remainder of the turn!" I declared. The card was promptly shattered and the fire pit it projected swelled to a massive size which blocked the eerie flames from reaching my field and once the flames vanished a glowing red veil shrouded all my cards.

"Well I guess attacking it pointless, I haven't got anything that deals piercing damage in my hand. So… I set one card face down and I end my turn!" Azurite commented. She didn't seem worried at all by the fact that I stopped her demolition action but she did currently have the advantage, however I had a strategy in mind to overcome this obstacle. "Hum… despite all that, the Scales are pretty steady," Azurite added on. Glancing down I found that the Scales hadn't gone off balance even by an inch since I last checked them.

"What does that mean?" I asked. She was testing my heart, but that didn't mean that if it stayed balance I'd still get to keep the Gauntlet and I wasn't entirely certain about giving it up when that would leave me vulnerable and even worse it could potentially fall into the hands of someone that would use it for evil.

"So far, your heart is steady. That means you haven't given up and will keep pushing on. However the only way to truly test it will be how you confront Demise," Azurite explained. Looking at the hulking beast I was once more hit with the overwhelming pressure that he was exerting and it made breathing a little bit harder before I smacked my cheeks to refocus my mind on the current situation.

"My turn!" I declared. Drawing the card forth I looked at it and sucked in a deep breath as I felt Hebe's power activate once more, my deck had given me all the cards that I needed in order to overcome the opponent standing against me and the powerful monster she'd brought into play, now all I had to do was ensure that the right plays were made.

**Katherine – LP: 2000 – LP: 2200**

"Kathie! You can do it!" I heard Kylie yell. Casting my eyes down to my sister I saw that although she still looked slightly paler than I felt comfortable with, she was still standing strong as she gave me a small smile; looking across the rest of my friends faces, they all had encouraging expressions shooting at me and through our bond I felt the comforting presence of Yugi rush into me, I refocused my eyes on Azurite who was smiling slightly and I let out a tiny laugh.

"I Release, Hypnos and Hestia in order to Advance Summon, King of Skies, Zeus!" I announced. The king of the gods appeared on the field; his face rugged as if it had endured many years of fierce winds with tanned skin and a strong jaw, he had curly, storm grey hair with a full beard of the same colour and sharp electric blue eyes, he wore a pure white toga with an eagle perched on his shoulder, electrical energy radiated from his form as he stare down my opponent. "Something wrong Azurite?" I openly wondered. My tone was half way between teasing and concerned which caused a weary smile to appear on my opponent's face.

**King of Skies, Zeus – Attribute: - Wind, Type: Thunder, Level: 8, ATK/2800, DEF/2700**

"Well, I wasn't expecting you to summon out such a powerful monster at this point, but it isn't enough to finish off Demise **and **you **have to** if you want to pass the test so what are you going to do about this Katherine?" Azurite wondered. My lips pressed together but I'd already figured out such a thing would occur from her earlier words, fortunately I already had another plan in place to deal with Demise.

"I activate the Magic card, Primordial Origin!" I announced. Pushing the card into the Magic/Trap zone caused it to be projected onto the field, I heard those watching begin to murmur amongst themselves except for Kylie and Yami since my sister had seen me use this card before and Yami would have learned of it from Yugi. "By Releasing one of the Three Rulers, I'm allowed to Summon a monster whose name has Primordial God or Goddess in it whose summoning condition has been fulfilled! I Release King of Skies, Zeus to Special Summon Primordial God of the Sky, Ouranos!" I declared. My Gauntlet had begun to glow brightly in response as the golden aura flooded around my body

A booming sound echoed as I pulled out the card that had been forced from my deck and Zeus was swallowed by an unknown form of light as I slid Ouranos' card into play and yet it appeared as if my field was still empty causing whispers of confusion to dance about however I noticed that Demise had craned its' head back slightly to gaze at the sky as his hands tightened around his weapon.

"Why are you looking at the earth for a god who embodies the very sky itself?" I questioned. My voice seemed to echo and vibrate as I spoke, and because of my words, Azurite's eyes widened as she proceeded to tilt her head backwards and I noticed her blue eyes widened as her skin took on a pale shade and a bead of sweat slid down her skin; everyone else followed her gaze and started shouting once they realised what Azurite was staring at, hidden within the stars clad sky was a pair of eyes, eyes that seemed to be forged from liquid silver and stared at my opponent, as Ouranos moved a visible ripple spread across the sky's surface.

**Primordial God of the Sky, Ouranos – Attribute: Light, Type: Angel, Level: 10, ATK/3800, DEF/100**

"Ouranos. Annihilate Demise with Crushing Heaven!" I commanded calmly. The godly being shifted causing the sky to ripple violently as Ouranos reached a hand down from the blanket above us to clamp down on Demise who desperately tried to resist but eventually Ouranos won the battle and the impressive monster was crushed flat again the duel arena before shattering into holographic fragments.

**Azurite – LP: 1000 – LP: 200**

"Um… well… I hadn't seen that coming," Azurite admitted. She was trying very hard not to stare up at the piercing eyes of Ouranos no doubt rather unnerved by the unwavering stare. "But I still have two hundred Life Points so you haven't won yet!" Azurite declared. However I simply reached out and pressed a button corresponding to my Magic and Trap zone which caused one of my face downs to rise up and Azurite's eyes widened even further upon seeing it.

"With Resurrection of the Dead I revive Zeus," I calmly stated. The god appeared back on my field with a serious expression on his face although he seemed uncomfortable knowing that Ouranos was still up above him. "Now I activate my second face down, Master Bolt. This Magic card equips to Zeus and gives him five hundred extra attack points!" I announced. A crackling white bolt of pure lightning appeared in Zeus' hand which he gripped tightly as the lightning flashed and lashed about.

**King of Skies, Zeus – ATK/2800 – ATK/3300**

"Zeus. Attack with Lightning Strike!" I commanded. The god reeled back his arm and focused the lightning bolt on Azurite who was desperately looking over her hand for any way out of the situation. "Ouranos' effect prevents any card being activated until the Battle Phase is over!" I declared. In response to that Azurite's eyes stilled before she slumped down as a weak grin appeared on her face just before the attack smashed into her form.

**Azurite – LP: 200 – LP: 0**

Heavy breathing escaped me as Zeus and Ouranos faded away along with the Gauntlet's glow whilst I collapsed to my knees, summoning my Primordial Gods so close to their source power always ended up draining me of strength – hell I'm certain if I didn't have my Gauntlet I'd die – and I tried to avoid it as much as possible but I didn't have much of a choice in this scenario; suddenly a smashing sound cut through the silence and I looked up to seeing what it could be.

The Millennium Scales, the side that held the feather of Ma'at, had slammed straight into the ground and I noticed that Azurite was also on her knees looking at the object with a smile on her face, she lifted her head and nodded at me to show that she wasn't going to take the Gauntlet away from me, suddenly the Scales began to glow before it immediately winked out at the object had disappeared.

"You did well, you proved that you deserved to wield the power of the Gauntlet," Azurite admitted. She planted her hands firmly on the metal underneath and proceeded to shakily push herself up onto her feet, she'd clearly suffered an immense drain of mana by using whatever spell she had to use in order for her to access the Scales' power for this duel, those kind of spells can backfired pretty badly if not done right which meant she'd taken an incredible risk just to test me.

"Kind of need it. Without the Gauntlet I don't have enough power," I admitted. For some reason I'd only been able to compete on the same stage as my sister when I put the Gauntlet; however strained laughter suddenly erupted from my opponent and I couldn't help but tilt my head to the side in confusion as the woman wrapped her arms around her midriff and curl in on herself as she continued to laugh before finally reigning it in as she lifted her head back up.

"What are you talking about?" Azurite asked. I was still stunned by what she had done in response to my words, I didn't answer her as I pushed myself up but my bewildered expression must have spoken volumes for me. "The Gauntlet only has so much power because you have that kind of power. You need to have more faith in yourself," Azurite admitted. My mouth opened slightly as I attempted to process this latest and strangest revelation I'd just received.

"Alright you two," Seto called. We both glanced down at the CEO who had a mildly annoyed look on his face although I noticed that at some point Rhodonite had showed up to watch the match. "Clear the stage, it's finally my turn," Seto insisted. With a quick look exchange between us, me and Azurite swiftly clambered off of the stage and went to stand with our respective sisters, Rhodonite and Azurite immediately developed into a hushed conversation as Kylie pulled me into a tight hug.

"You did great sis," Kylie complimented. I smiled and returned the hug before we broke apart and I turned to the elevator which would bring the final unknown duelist up to us. "This next duel will be interesting," Kylie admitted.


	37. Chapter 37

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback, or something in another language.**

**Thank you to Guest for your review, I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

Chapter 37: - Kaiba VS. The Twelfth Duelist

Things were tense as we waited for the final Duel to get under way, all of us were gathered behind Seto whilst Other Marik stood alone on the opposite side with a creepy smile plastered on his face as the brunette CEO was holding a conversation with Mokuba whom – from what I could deduce – was analysing the Winged Divine Dragon of Ra, my arms were crossed with a finger tapping against my arm due to the anxiety that was bubbling up with me.

"Kylie relax," Katherine quietly hissed. It wasn't like Katherine could talk as she was wringing her hands together up until the referee announced that the final match would now be starting so Seto inserted his deck and made to walk towards the platform as we watched the man, the brunette called back to Yami claiming this was a battle for the God Cards and the title of Duel King meaning that Seto was deadly serious about winning this Duel.

I glanced over at Azurite and Rhodonite who were quietly discussing something and all I could see were their eyes darting between Seto and the elevator, implying that the discussion concerned the Duel or Seto's opponent; the dinging of the elevator signalled that Seto's opponent had arrived and all gazes turned to observe that persons arrival, we were probably all eager to know exactly who had been holding that spot given that he or she hadn't shown themselves once during all the other duels or interludes between each.

"The sixth match, Kaiba Seto VS...," Isono began to announce. The doors into the elevator proceeded to roll back and I noticed that the Egyptian handmaidens immediately snapped to attention as if they were soldiers causing my lips to frown at their unusual actions. "His opponent...," Isono continued. The final doors rolled away allowing me to see a tanned skin woman dressed in a white or cream coloured Egyptian styled dress which matched Azurite and Rhodonite's outfits complete with a head scarf and veil covered her head except for her grey eyes, eyes that seemed familiar to me.

"You're late! You've got some nerve, making **me** wait!" Seto snapped. The woman didn't react to those words and she instead calmly walked out of the elevator and up to the dueling platform. "Or if you don't want to be here, it's fine for you to surrender now," Seto mocked. The woman took up her position across from Seto and she reached up to her veil, the woman proceeded to pull it off revealing a face that me and Yami where definitely familiar with causing us to look at each other in surprise before turning our attention back to the woman as Isono asked for her name.

"My name is Ishizu, Ishizu Ishtar," Ishizu answered. At that moment I felt a surge of energy coming from Other Marik who was sneering upon seeing the woman standing there, I noted that they shared the same surname and the two gemstone named women had implied that Marik had an older sister, did that mean that this woman was that same sister, but the **why** was she taking actions that clearly went against the desires of her brother.

"That's the lady I saw after our Duel against Azurite and Rhodonite," Katherine revealed. Me and Yami snapped our heads down to stare at my sister as I hadn't seen the woman after that Duel but Katherine's eyes were firm and showed no sign of confusion, glancing at the handmaidens I saw Azurite nod her head in agreement with Katherine's words. "I take it she is Marik's sister, but how did you two meet her?" Katherine wondered. My sister was looking at me and Yami with a raised eyebrow to further emphasise her inquisitiveness regarding the only mystery that was remaining.

"Yeah, you recall that day I was out with Yami – **don't you dare call it a date**," I started speaking, although I growled the last part. Katherine had opened her mouth when I mentioned the day causing me to take that tangent and I could feel everyone around the two of us staring at us in surprise except for Anzu who was glaring at me with a scowl on her face. "We went to an Egyptian exhibit at the museum and that's where we met her and she told us about... all this," I answered.

"Why are **you**-" Seto began to ask. That caught my attention; my gaze snapped back to the two duelist as my eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, how did they know each other, as Ishizu cut the CEO off by claiming she was being led by her fate. "Explain in a way I can understand!" Seto demanded. I wondered if the Millennium Tauk had shown Ishizu something and she'd come to fulfil it – fighting future visions... never a good idea, kind of ends up being self-fulfilling **and** making things worse – and that something was most likely to do with Marik and his evil half.

"That person is my younger brother," Ishizu admitted. She had turned her gaze to Marik, confirming what I'd been suspecting since the woman had shown up. "No. He is now being controlled by another personality. He is only a sorrowful vessel, in order to save my younger brother, Marik, I will win this Duel," Ishizu promised. The others started talking about Marik's last name and their relationship, as if they **hadn't** just heard Ishizu's words only seconds prior.

"She, **literally**, just admitted that!" Me and Katherine exclaimed. At least Otogi made a logical observation that they gave off the same aura and waited until we'd spoken, Ishizu then revealed the power of her Millennium Item and that because of this power Seto was going to lose to the woman and it was impossible to escape such a fate; oh... he was **not** going to like that, hell I wouldn't like being told such a thing.

"The future, right? More of that Occult rubbish again?! I've grown tired of your ridiculous jokes! I've only accept that Yugi has a split personality... who believes he an ancient Pharaoh and so does everyone else," Seto retorted. I sighed at that, as I thought that by now with all the insanity that was currently going on around the tournament, that Seto would have finally accepted that magic was more real than he realised. "Who was it that gave the God card, the Obelisk, to me at the museum and asked for my help in destroying the Ghouls? And this tournament was held for that sole purpose," Seto shot back.

"What did he say?! So Kaiba and that woman secretly planned this tournament?!" Jounouchi exclaimed. My jaw had actually unhinged at this revelation and I once more sent at look to Yami who seemed as startled by the new information as I felt, at least it explained how Seto had got a hold of Obelisk in the first place, ignoring our conversation in favour of continuing his own, Seto was – obviously – disbelieving in Ishizu's claim, but he did appear to like that boldness since he claimed it was a better impression than the first one.

"The commander of the Ghouls, thieves who raid Duelist all over the world in secrecy, is my younger brother Marik," Ishizu admitted. We'd pretty much had already figured that little fact out although Jounouchi seemed to be surprised by this revelation as Ishizu glanced down at the twisted version of her brother. "But he is not the Marik over there. As the leader of the Ghouls, it is natural not to forgive him for the crime of stealing Rare cards, especially after stealing Lady Kylie's Guardians. But, compared with this there's a more terrifying threat in Marik now," Ishizu admitted.

"I see. That's why you spoke to me and asked me to hold this tournament as bait for the Ghouls," Seto realised. Ishizu admitted that she had to keep winning in order to stop Marik's evil personality, the duty of an older sibling was to keep the younger out of harm's way, or hit them over the head when they went off the deep end. "Now I know your resolve, but somethings still bothering me. You use me for your goals and then claim you're going to **beat** me!? I don't know what your relationship with him is like, but I will crush you for sure! You're saying you can see the future, I'm sorry Ishizu but you're superstitious Occult paraphernalia won't work on me! I'll use my **cards** to decide my fate! And I'll use the power of the Obelisk **you** handed me to do so!" Seto declared.

Despite those words Ishizu appeared completely calm and I wouldn't be surprised if the woman had already seen the entire conversation beforehand, I didn't know the limits of her Millennium Item but it seemed plausible, Seto demanded that the Duel be started – **finally!** – and their Duel Disks were activated.

**Ishizu – LP: 4000**

**Seto – LP: 4000**

Now that the duel was **finally **underway, the two duelist proceeded to draw their first hands, I was curious as to what kind of deck Ishizu was going to use and exactly how she intended to defeat Obelisk; Seto proceeded to make the first move by summoning out Blood Vorse in attack mode as well as setting a card face down.

**Blood Vorse – Attribute: Dark, Type: Beast-Warrior, Level: 4, ATK/1900, DEF/1200**

"Everything is the same as my vision. It's my turn, right?" Ishizu calmly stated. Anzu wondered if Ishizu really had the power to see the future and if she did then didn't that mean Seto couldn't win, Jounouchi didn't care in the least because he was rather conflicted as he wanted to see Seto be defeated but at the same time the blonde wished to be the one doing the defeating, thus making the boy feel rather conflicted. "Keldo in defence mode," Ishizu spoke. She had drawn the card and played it without even looking at it.

**Keldo – Attribute: Light, Type: Angel, Level: 4, ATK/1200, DEF/1600**

Jounouchi picked up on this and was appropriately stunned by this fact with Yami openly wondering if the Egyptian woman had indeed seen the entirety of the Duel already, due to Mai's psychic act from Duelist Kingdom Jounouchi was disbelieving of such an ability however Yami quickly pointed out that this was nothing like the Aroma Tactic that the blonde vixen had used back then as the wind up here was too strong meaning that the fragrance would be disrupted.

"Besides that, real Seers do exist. They however tend to keep their ability under wraps unless their lives are threatened. Me and Kathie even get visions some times and they give you a cracking headache. However Ishizu's ability comes from the necklace she's wearing, the Millennium Tauk. That's how she's doing it," I added on. At that moment the woman activated the Magic card, Fellow Traveller to the Grave causing both of them to discard two cards then draw two more but the two discarded cards were chosen by the opposing player; naturally Seto was annoyed by the appearance of the card.

"Please discard Kaiser Glider and Fusion," Ishizu requested. She hadn't even looked at Seto's hand when declaring those cards which stunned Seto although he did immediately snap for the woman to reveal her hand with Seto forcing her to discard Magic Revival and Resurrection of the Dead, Ishizu did so and they drew the two new cards before the woman ended her turn; throughout the whole thing Ishizu hadn't broken her calm tone even once, the woman's eyes flickered down to the monster.

"Your dear little brother has been sealed **deep** within my heart," Other Marik boasted. My lips twisted into a frown upon hearing those words being spoken, I didn't like Marik and wasn't liable to ever start liking him but I understood Ishizu's plight since we were both older sisters and if Katherine were in a situation like Marik currently was, there'd probably be nothing in Heaven, Hell or Earth that could stop me from saving her from such a fate.

"It's my turn! Blood Vorse attack!" Seto commanded. The vicious looking warrior charged forward and quickly sliced through the creature destroying it. "Keldo is destroyed!" Seto added. Ishizu had covered her face when the monster was shattered whilst Seto's face held a satisfied smirk. "How's that? Is this what you saw in your future? Before you look into the future, you should look at the enemy right in front of you, Ishizu," Seto mocked. However Ishizu was quick to retort that she had already seen everything that would happen in the Duel "It's **you** who doesn't understand. Did you really think using such a **feint** would work with me?" Seto retorted. He then proceeded to look at his hand seemingly setting up plan for his next turn and he then set a face down.

"Ishizu's power is certainly eerie but Kaiba has Obelisk. Can she beat him?" Jounouchi questioned. Yami had been able to defeat Osiris when facing the Doll which meant that it wasn't an impossibility and if you combined that fact with the seeing powers that the Millennium Tauk possessed then it was simple for someone to come up with a plan in order to defeat Obelisk, although I didn't know all of the being's power so it might not even work.

The Egyptian woman proceeded to draw her card and she actually looked at it this time before placing it into her hand and she then proceeded to summon out Mudora, I had to wonder exactly what Ishizu was up to regarding the plays she was making as I couldn't figure out the specifics of the woman's endgame although I at least had a suspicion regarding what Seto was most likely up to, Ishizu then proceeded to equip her monster with Magic card, Sword of Dagla, in order to give it a power boost.

**Mudora – Attribute: Earth, Type: Angel, Level: 4, ATK/1500, DEF/1800**

**Mudora – ATK/1500 – ATK/2000**

"Attack Blood Vorse!" Ishizu commanded. The empowered monster proceeded to rush towards the vicious monster but in that moment a smirk broke out across Seto's face and he instantly activated both of his face down cards which turned out to be the Magic card Shrink and the Trap card Deck Destruction Virus of Death, Shrink would cut down Blood Vorse's attack allowing it to be a host to the Virus which was set loose upon the creature's destruction resulting in Ishizu's powerful monsters being annihilated in an instant.

**Blood Vorse – ATK/1900 – ATK/950**

**Seto – LP: 4000 – LP:2950**

Yet despite this sudden turn of events, Ishizu didn't even seem to be concerned by the twist as she calmly stared at the sickly purple smoke that was floating around the area, covering her monster and penetrating into her hand and deck; Mudora dissolved away as Jounouchi commented on the Deck Destruction Combo that had been unleashed and Ishizu calmly discarded all of her infected cards whilst Seto seemed reassured of his victory.

"I will invoke this now! Sealing Swords of Light!" Ishizu announced. The card summoned forth the blazing green Swords which encircled Seto's field, the brunette commented that the Egyptian woman was stalling in order to strengthen her hand even claiming that she was attempting to escape from her defeat. "I am not planning to escape. The Swords of Light will act as a **countdown** to your **defeat**," Ishizu responded. Naturally all of us were surprised by this announcement as Ishizu elaborated that Seto would draw the card that would lead to his defeat within the three turns but the CEO immediately dismissed such a claim.

"She's right, he'll lose unless he changes tactics," Katherine piped up. I pressed my teeth against my bottom lip upon hearing my sister's prediction as that only made things seem more concrete about the defeat of my friendly acquaintance in this tournament, Ishizu then set one card face down and proceeded to end her turn; Seto proceeded to make his move by drawing the card and promptly summoning it revealing the card to be Death Gremlin and he then set a card face down.

**Death Gremlin – Attribute: Dark, Type: Reptile, Level: 4, ATK/1600, DEF/1800**

Ishizu simply drew a card from her deck as she passed her turn allowing Seto to take control of the duel once more although he mocked the vision that Ishizu had claimed would occur but she only stated that Seto would draw the card for his defeat in only two turns, I had to wonder exactly which card he would draw which would so deeply tie Seto into this inescapable defeat, however all the brunette did was laugh at hearing those words.

"**I'm** not the one putting on a show here! Listen up, the card I draw next and every card after that are nothing short of the road you're walking on that will lead to your loss!" Seto declared. Honda wasn't impressed by the words that Seto was speaking even wondering if perhaps he was being impractical about this, Jounouchi stated that anyone would get frustrated if they'd been told by someone else that they could see into the future; Seto simply passed his turn after drawing a card.

"Turn end, there is just one more turn," Ishizu calmly stated. Seto mocked the countdown that Ishizu had set up and the fact that she hadn't played a card during the time that the Swords had been in play, he even went as far as to suggest that Ishizu wasn't capable of winning no matter which card she drew; Seto drew and passed his turn with Ishizu doing the same, now was the turn which would reveal the card meant to lead to Seto's defeat. "The countdown to your defeat has been completed," Ishizu announced.

"And even though you gave yourself three more turns to live, you couldn't even play a mere Wall Monster. How can you even say that?" Seto retorted. Ishizu didn't rise to the provocation as the green swords vanished. "The effects of the Swords have vanished! Are you ready for this?" Seto stated. He placed his fingers against the top card of his deck and closed his eyes as if sensing something for a moment before opening them and drawing the card.

When that card was removed I let out a small gasp as I gripped the area where my heart lay, that card had to be Obelisk as I could feel the power coming off of it however that didn't explain anything; how could Obelisk – arguably the strongest card in Seto's deck – be the one that could lead to Seto's defeat, my bracelet felt like it was tingling causing me to frown deeply as I couldn't understand why my bracelet was always reacting this way to the God cards.

"Death Gremlin! Attack the player directly!" Seto declared. The fiendish creature charged forward and struck Ishizu which cleaved off a fair chunk of her Life Points and Ishizu had flinched backwards in response to the attack. "The future is infinite, the past a string of footsteps. The stuff that happened long before my time in the past has nothing to do with **me**! Ishizu, the same goes for the fact that you **gave** me a God card!" Seto declared.

**Ishizu – LP: 4000 – LP: 2400**

"It won't bring him victory!" Katherine firmly stated. I looked down at my sister seeing that her dark orbs were firmly fixed forward, the surety with which my sister spoke made it clear she believed those words, if God was going to end Seto's participation in the Duel then he'd be completely crushed by this, unless he found another method to achieve his victory and I'm sure a certain white scaled dragon was the only one that could help him.


	38. Chapter 38

**Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback, or something in another language.**

**Thank you to Guest for your review, I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy**

**Also this is the final chapter of Battle of Destiny Begins and sadly I'll be taking a break from Yu-Gi-Oh for a little, this is not be losing interest or giving up on the Hope sisters, I simply have too many ideas in my damned head and I need to decant them before I can focus on this, I WILL get some chapters out next year but it won't be in the first quarter. Sorry and thanks for sticking with me.**

Chapter 38: - One Strike That Changes The Future

Obelisk would end Seto; that was an undeniable fact, I never quite understood my ability to sense the events of any duel except for those I participated in but it certainly did come in handy on occasion, I didn't know how the duel would end until the final turn came but if Seto didn't change his tune then his loss was set in stone.

"Ishizu, remember this! I didn't choose God… **God **chose me!" Seto declared. Jounouchi commented about Ishizu's lack of care towards her current position which resulted in her ability being brought into the discussion once more, meanwhile Anzu wasn't entirely sure of what Ishizu was planning to do given her the strength of her remaining cards.

"Her strongest cards were dumped in the Cemetery!" Jounouchi exclaimed. However that last word caught my attention, Cemetery… the grave, if Ishizu was a member of the Tomb Keepers like Rishid, her hand maidens and the psychopath that was currently possessing her brother then her deck might follow the same themes as them, protection of the grave by traps or curses and just by studying Seto, Ishizu might have actually prepared for this very situation.

"Reverse card open!" Seto commanded. The card at his feet proceeded to rise up and reveal what it was to the rest of us causing my lips to push together at the sight of it. "Magic Removal Virus Cannon, activate!" Seto continued on. The cannon painted on the card was projected forward and pointed its' barrel at Ishizu's deck. "Send her Magic cards to the graveyard!" Seto ordered. A blast of light flew forward and struck the woman's Duel Disk. "Ishizu choose ten of your Magic cards and send them to the Cemetery! Now your deck has been completely destroyed! Monsters and Magic, you've lost nearly every basic requirement need to duel!" Seto claimed. Ishizu disposed of her tainted cards as Seto continued to brag about defying the woman's prediction.

"I shall not take back my words. I have already seen a vision of this happening," Ishizu retorted. Seto glared at her and proceeded to demand if she'd really keep up the bold front, at that moment the Millennium Tawk proceeded to gleam. "It's **you **who fell into a trap! The trap of the Tomb Keepers!" Ishizu declared. Seto was stunned by those words as Ishizu proceeded to activate her face down. "Reverse card open! Reversal of the Present World and the Underworld! I sacrifice one thousand Life Points to exchange the living cards in our decks with the deceased cards in our Cemetery!" Ishizu revealed.

**Ishizu – LP: 2400 – LP: 1400**

Ouch. That move practically destroyed Seto's deck as he only had six cards in his grave whilst Ishizu had a significantly higher amount of cards thanks to Seto's own actions of destroying her deck, the shocked expression on his face was kind of painful to witnessed, even if Ishizu hadn't concocted a plan to use Obelisk to destroy Seto, he'd lose in seven turns anyway thanks to this reversal.

"It seems it's my turn again," Ishizu calmly stated. Seto clearly was unhappy about this as he cursed Ishizu who simply drew a card from her deck. "I draw and summon Kelbek," Ishizu stated. Jounouchi commented that Seto was done for since he couldn't change the duel situation with only six cards sitting in his deck.

**Kelbek – Attribute: Earth, Type: Angel, Level: 4, ATK/1500, DEF/1800**

"Ishizu-san really can see the future! Otherwise he wouldn't have lost this easily," Anzu exclaimed. However at hearing those words I proceeded to cast my eyes up to Kylie who had a deep frown settled onto her face, not that I blamed her given that this duel wasn't over just yet meaning that nothing had been determined as of yet.

"He hasn't lost," Kylie snarled. Everyone snapped their attention to me sister who kept her gaze firmly focused on the two people currently dueling before us. "The duel isn't over until the last card is played," Kylie commented. I saw Anzu frown at my sister before letting out an annoyed scoff causing Kylie to glance at the brunette from the corner of her eye as the men wisely backed off from the confrontation to come.

"But Ishizu-san can see the future-," Anzu began to retaliated. However Kylie snapped her head to complete spear Anzu with an icy green gaze which caused the girl to snap her mouth close and allowed Kylie to return her attention to the duel as those who had backed from returned to their prior positions but warily watched the two women just in case another argument proceeded to break out.

"And the future is fluid, a truly strong will can change what others see as predetermined," I added on. Ishizu proceeded to end her turn by setting a card face down; at that moment the elevator dinged open and Mokuba immediately charged out and over to where we were standing as he called out to his brother and rushed right passed us.

"Mokuba! Has the analysis of the card been completed?" Seto questioned. However this analysis had not been completed and Mokuba was rather worried about his brother, Seto gritted his teeth and turned his harsh gaze back to Ishizu. "My turn!" Seto declared. He proceeded to reach out to draw a card – six turns left until Deck Out – his hand violently shaking but when he reached it Ishizu claimed it was his Virus Cannon.

Seto's expression was all anyone needed to see in order to know that the woman was right on the money about her words and I was certain that Seto had to see now that Ishizu was no longer guessing what cards the CEO was drawing or holding, the moment he did that then he probably would be able to break out of the trap that Ishizu had carefully lain for him.

"You are free to use that card however you wish," Ishizu commented. Seto reacted badly to those words as he proceeded to activate the Magic card thus intending to reduce the amount of cards that Ishizu had available to her, however the woman was hardly concerned about this twist and I lightly pressed my teeth to my bottom lip at seeing the reluctance to accept the truth in Seto's eyes.

"At this moment my Counter Trap activates!" Ishizu announced. Seto's eyes widened as the card that Ishizu had played proceeded to lift up and reveal exactly what Trap she'd lain. "Trap card! Invalid! Please throw away the Virus Cannon," Ishizu finished. The effect was negated and Seto slid the card into his graveyard and I noticed the unsettled gleam within his frosty eyes. "Next you'll draw Deck Destruction Virus. And of course, I won't allow you to add it to you hand," Ishizu revealed. Seto proceeded to end his turn upon hearing those words despite one critical thing.

"Just now, Kaiba's Death Gremlin had higher attack points than Ishizu's monster. Why didn't he attack, Yu-Yami? Kylie? Katherine?" Jounouchi questioned. It did seem rather odd, but perhaps he was banking on one of the cards in his hand to allow him to defeat Ishizu in a single turn before he ran out of cards in his deck.

"Kaiba's trying to Summon Obelisk," Yami stated. Jounouchi clarified that the ancient spirit meant his God card and asked if the pharaoh was indeed serious. "If he is, he must have that in his hand," Yami admitted. I noticed Kylie rubbing her fingers along her bracelet and I knew Obelisk was definitely in Seto's hand, I could feel its' tremendous power bubbling beneath the surface but the moment it did then Seto's fate was sealed.

"It's my turn! Draw!" Ishizu announced. She pulled another card out and proceeded to summon out another monster known as Zolga; if Seto was planning to summon out Obelisk he needed three monsters to do so and it was highly unlikely that there was two monsters in Seto's hand which meant that he needed to use Ishizu's monsters but if Ishizu knew this duel then she had to have prepared for it already, I noticed that Seto's eyes were taking on a dark and almost glassy look.

**Zolga – Attribute: Dark, Type: Angel, Level: 4, ATK/1700, DEF/1200**

"Kaiba!" Yami suddenly called. I jumped slightly and turned to look at the ancient spirit along with everyone including the brunette CEO whom he had called out to. "I can see it! I can see us battling one another on the road of battle! Use our cards to **explore **that future! That's a future! I can see it! A future where me and you fight each other in Battle City!" Yami declared. The glassy look in Seto's eyes vanished and he focused his normal steely gaze on his opponent.

"Then wait for me, Yami!" Seto declared. At that moment, Ishizu decided to remind everyone that technically she had not called an end to her turn and so ordered her newest monster to attack Seto's, destroying Death Gremlin and forcing Seto deeper into the trap that the Egyptian woman had carefully planned out.

**Seto – LP: 2950 – LP: 2850**

"I'll then use Kelbek to launch a direct attack on the player!" Ishizu announced. The second monster launched a beam of light from its' eye which struck Seto right in the chest and caused him to flinch backwards as a result, the brunette then proceeded to curse the woman for her attack. "I set a reverse card on the field! Turn end!" Ishizu finished. That face down was most likely a card to deal with Deck Destruction Virus whether it was another Invalid, Remove Trap or a different sort of card altogether.

**Seto – LP: 2850 – LP: 1350**

Looking at Seto's eyes I knew that he knew that fact as well but the steel within them also told me that he wasn't about to back down because of a single unknown card that was most definitely set as a trap, Seto drew his card and Ishizu immediately activated another Invalid and so with an admission of 'I knew it' Seto was forced to throw away another of his cards bringing him five turns closer to his defeat.

"Every method Kaiba-kun had, has been completely ruined!" Otogi admitted. Jounouchi tacked on that the Egyptian woman had completely broken his deck and Honda stated it was the worst case scenario; Mokuba declared his belief that his brother was going to win, but if Seto wanted to escape this trap then he had to change his strategy instead of relying on Obelisk; why the hell wasn't Blue-Eyes doing anything! Was she sulking?

Glancing at the shadow of the white scaled dragon I saw that unlike most time where she was protectively coiled around her master, this time the grip was much looser and her head was even twisted away from Seto; yep, she was sulking and since dragons were such proud creatures – kind of why Seto liked them I though sometimes – there was nothing either me or Kylie could say or do to snap Blue-Eyes out of her mood, only Seto could by summoning her.

Seto finished his turn by setting one card face down; that card was probably Cross Sacrifice which meant that the CEO was still doggedly intent on bringing out Obelisk and I knew now that things were set, this duel was done and everything was set to end when Seto's next turn came around and admittedly I was slightly disappointed by his stubbornness to change his method when he realised they wouldn't work.

"It my turn! Draw! I set a reverse card on the field!" Ishizu announced. The moment that card was set on the field I felt a shiver creep its' way across my body and I focused on Zolga knowing that something was now very wrong with that particular monster, a glance at my sister showed that she felt the same way. "I then summon another monster!" Ishizu declared. That was it then, Seto had everything he needed and Ishizu's trap was set to destroy him.

**Agido – Attribute: Earth, Type: Angel, Level: 4, ATK/1500, DEF/1300**

"Reverse card, activate! Kelbek! Agido! Zolga! Ishizu, I'll sacrifice your monsters! Cross Sacrifice!" Seto declared. The card lifted up as Ishizu's monsters were engulfed in blue light in the reverse order that Seto had called out to them. "I'll show you God! Come forth! Giant Divine Soldier of Obelisk!" Seto announced. The card was played and the powerful God appeared on the field from a pillar of blue light easily towering over all of us.

**Giant Divine Soldier of Obelisk – Attribute: God, Type: Phantom God Beast, Level: 10, ATK/4000, DEF/4000**

"Something's wrong," Me and Kylie stated in synch. Everyone looked at us confused but it was the truth, there was something fundamentally different about Obelisk this time around compared to the last two times that we'd seen it in action, I knew it had to do with whatever had changed about Zolga when Ishizu had set her face down card.

"On my next turn, God's fist will shatter your future!" Seto declared. However Ishizu simply closed her eyes and proceeded to end her turn with no further action as there was no longer any need for it. "My turn!" Seto declared. This was the final turn and with it Seto's loss was all but set in stone, Kylie let out a huff as she clasped the back of her neck whilst shaking her head as I folded my arms over my chest with a displeased scowl on my face. "Well Ishizu. Obelisk, the God of Destruction, is going to destroy you and bring me victory. Ishizu you don't have a Wall monster to defend you. You can surrender now," Seto commented.

"Yugi, can Kaiba-kun really beat her with this attack? Yugi?" Anzu called. I was a bit annoyed, and from the look on Kylie face so was she, that the girl was still referring to Yami by someone else's name it was incredibly rude of her especially given that we'd explained it to all of them already, however neither of us much cared to correct the brunette at this exact moment given the more important situation above us.

"So how does it feel, Ishizu? You ready to feel God's attack?" Seto questioned. I was starting to feel annoyed that he wouldn't get on with his turn already and was instead deciding to gloat over the fact that he believed he had won the duel already, I wondered what would happen first whether Seto would attack or if my sister would snap at him to get on with it. "Here goes! Giant Divine Soldier of Obliesk! Atta-" Seto began to declared.

However right as he called out, I spotted Other Marik about to walk away and then the Millennium Rod began to glow a brilliant light, this was quickly matched by my own Millennium Item and in that instant everything before my eyes changed.

_***Yu-Gi-Oh***_

_My sight cleared and I was within in desert land and before me was a man dressed in the clothing of a priest, within his arms was either the unconscious or dead body of a white haired woman and before the both of us was the stone tablet holding Blue-Eyes White Dragon, I then spotted the Millennium Rod held within his hands._

_Suddenly the vision fell away from my gaze._

_***Yu-Gi-Oh***_

"**What **in the name of the ever loving gods **was that**!?" I exclaimed. My breath was rapidly escaping me as I felt Kylie's hand on my shoulder, looking up I saw that Seto hadn't finished his declaration of attack and something in my heart told me he'd witnessed the same vision that I'd just experienced; suddenly Blue-Eyes roared echoed over my spirit and I looked up to see the beautiful dragon had turned to gaze at her master.

"I activate a Magic Card from my hand!" Seto declared. The shocked expression on Ishizu's face when those words were spoken proved that this hadn't occurred within her vision. "Silent Dead! I revive a monster from the graveyard in defence mode! I summon Gadget Soldier!" Seto announced. That made two monsters on the field, if Seto was going to do it then he had to dispose of Obelisk to bring out Blue-Eyes; there was simply no other way and **I knew **the duel would **end this turn**.

**Gadget Soldier – Attribute: Fire, Type: Machine, Level: 6, ATK/1800, DEF/2000**

"In order to summon Blue-Eyes from my hand, I require two sacrifices! In which case…" Seto stated. He then reached his hand out towards Obelisk causing Ishizu to cry out that he couldn't but the brunette wasn't listening to her. "That's right! I'll sacrifice **God**!" Seto admitted. This revelation shocked everyone except for me as a smile made its' way onto my lips at this choice. "My pride! And my soul! **I **decide my future! Obelisk! And Gadget Soldier! For my loyal servant, you shall be sacrificed! Ishizu, I'll show you, the embodiment of both my pride and soul, my loyal servant! Come forth! Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Seto declared.

**Blue-Eyes White Dragon – Attribute: Light, Type: Dragon, Level: 8, ATK/3000, DEF/2500**

The brilliant dragon emerged onto the field and never before had she appeared so radiant, I think she might have been enjoying this a touch too much, Ishizu was shocked even admitting that Seto had changed the future with the monster that was possessing her brother, seeming to be rather annoyed about how the Millennium Rod had been acting just now.

"Ishizu, in the vision of the future you supposedly saw… did the Blue-Eyes show up?" Seto wondered. However the Egyptian woman was completely shocked silent by the reversal of fate that had expectedly occurred. "It seems it **didn't**," Seto realised. Ishizu's shocked expression fell away as she closed her eyes and smiled slightly, she had clearly accepted the obviously sign that she was about to lose. "It's **my **future! Go! Blue-Eyes!" Seto commanded. The glittering beast flew forward and unleashed her Burst Stream at point blank range to Ishizu.

**Ishizu – LP: 1400 – LP: 0 **

Seto and Isono declared his victory, Ishizu then went on to congratulate her opponent and admit he truly deserved to wield a God card but then went on to ask why he had done it; Seto's response was everyone had something they believed in with all their hearts, something even deeper than gods and he had simply trusted in that, in Blue-Eyes.

"Seto… I took something important from this duel. And that is the light of **hope**. One not predicted in the future shown by the Millennium Tauk, perhaps it is as Lady Katherine said, the truly strong willed can change what might be predetermined," Ishizu admitted. Her gaze then drifted down to her brother's demon and I wondered if she had foreseen that even if she had won this duel, she might still have lost Marik. "I lost, but I now believe that the future can be changed. And the people gathered here have the power to save Marik. Seto people **can **change the future," Ishizu admitted. The platform then began to lower back down to our level.

"People who allow themselves to be chained by the future will never see that light," Seto responded. He then stepped off the platform and began to set off with Mokuba quick at his heels but the brunette CEO did stop shortly after passing Yami. "The next time we meet, it'll be time to settle the score in our fight," Seto stated. Yami agreed to this and Seto continued to walk away from the platform, in that moment Ishizu's handmaidens rushed up to her with brilliant smiles on their faces as they spoke to her.

The rest of us left the platform and returned to the inside of the airship with an announcement playing, revealing that we would continue with the tournament tomorrow but it would be at a different location than the Battle Ship, Yami had reverted to Yugi who was curious about the location of the next stage whilst Jounouchi couldn't careless and simply wanted to advance to the finals with Yugi.

We decided to head for Mai's room before turning in but at that moment Ishizu alongside Azurite and Rhodonite appeared with the Tomb Keeper admitting she was concerned about the woman inside and wished to join us, we agreed and stepped into the room; unfortunately I'd been unsuccessful in rousing Mai from her imprisoned state and nothing had changed since I left her bedside.

"Hang in there Mai! I'll beat Marik for you!" Jounouchi promised. At that moment Shizuka called out by admitting that she couldn't take much more of this situation, no one could blame her as this was a terrible thing to be put into especially if that person was as kind hearted as Shizuka was, the girl even admitted that this wasn't the world she wanted to see, burying her head into her hands as she did.

"No matter what happens…," Ishizu spoke up. We all turned to face her wondering what the woman would have to say that could help calm Shizuka's tears, at least she knew what to say. "… we mustn't run away from anything. Miss, even if our world is full of sadness, there are those who reach out with open arms with hopes of merely catching a glimpse of it. Dating all the way back to Ancient Egyptian times, us Tomb Guardians have had countless losses in order to protect our mission. To protect the great power kept within the Millennium Items," Ishizu explained.

"Ishizu-san, you're Marik's sister aren't you? Please tell me, why does Marik want to kill me? Why does Marik's dark side want to take everyone's lives?" Yugi questioned. The woman was silent for a few moments, so Yugi took a small step towards her. "Ishizu-san," Yugi pressed. The woman eventually agreed and proceeded to start her tale by explaining the Ishtars were descended from the Tomb Keepers who protected two Millennium Items and the location of the Pharaoh's memory.

They lived underground away from the rest of the world and apparently the eldest sons all underwent a Rite of the Tomb Keeprs which entailed the Pharaoh's memoires being **CARVED **onto their backs at the tender age of ten years old; apparently the event that broke down their family happened one year later which had occurred five years ago.

Apparently the two siblings had sneaked out of their underground living place with Rishid covering for them even though doing so would put the three in grave danger – apparently the Elony twins had been kept out of it because Marik wanted to protect them – it would only be for an hour but it was something Marik dearly wished for.

Leaving in the morning, they explored a market place that was nearby but because of what Marik saw there, his resentment for his life began to rise which deeply troubled his sister but the hour was up and so they proceeded to return although Ishizu did permit her brother to keep a page from a discarded book that he had discovered on their outing.

As they turned to leave Ishizu ran into someone who gave the siblings cryptic message about the Pharaoh been revived soon – this person Ishizu met had to be Shadi – he added on that a tragedy of bloodshed would be forced upon them because it was the Pharaoh's will and Shadi insisted they find the Pharaoh.

"I broke the laws of the clan. By exposing Marik to the outside world, our family was fated to walk on a road of destruction," Ishizu admitted. She resumed her story by admitting that the two had given chase but lost Shadi so Ishizu insisted that they never speak of that day and forget all about it as they returned to their underground home

However as they descended down the stairwell, the two discovered an alarm hung just before the door, as it had been dark they'd missed it upon leaving which meant that their father knew the two had left the living space and as the two dashed back down and discovered that their father was torturing Rishid for his assistance in their escape although neither of the Elony twins could be seen in the room despite all the noise.

The man intended to punish both of his children for their actions and proceeded to attack Marik with the whip he was using, but that was the moment that Other Marik emerged and stop the whip, he then proceeded to claim the Millennium Rod and used it to bind the remaining Ishtars to the walls forcing Ishizu unconscious at the same time.

At this moment Azurite and Rhodonite took over the story, the twins had apparently hidden within a secret passage that their parents had discovered and told them off, they watched as Other Marik stabbed the Ishtar patriarch to death with the Millenium Rod's hidden blade – that caused me to rub my left shoulder as a phantom ache came over it – the psychopath then intended to killed Ishizu.

It was then that the presumed dead Rishid managed to stir and called out to the real Marik causing the demon within him to attempt to get rid of the person that bound him, taking action at that moment the twins emerged from their hiding place with Rhodonite grabbing a hold of the monster as Azurite revealed Rishid's carving which had the effect of sealing Other Marik away once more.

Sadly Marik had absolutely no memory of the events so Rishid tried to shield him from the truth but Marik saw his father's dead body and then Shadi appeared, he claimed that the Pharaoh had been responsible for his and that he would be revived soon then encouraged Marik to search for him before vanishing.

"But even so, no matter **what **reason he has for doing it, I can't forgive him!" Jounouchi exclaimed. He then turned back to look at the unconscious woman lying behind us. "Mai's fighting for her life as we speak because of Marik's Power of Darkness! And if Marik isn't **beaten**… Mai's life will…," Jounouchi stated. He trailed off not wanting to even think about the dark fate that was waiting for Mai.

"I'm with Jounouchi on this. Marik targeted innocent people who had no involvement in all of this, abusing the power of the Millennium Rod and putting lives on the line. I'm sorry Ishizu but the dark personality isn't the only thing to blame for Marik's actions. He needs to be held responsible," Kylie stated. My sister's eyes were firm and hard showing that she wasn't going to budge on her opinion of the matter.

"If I entrust the cleansing of Marik's dark personality to you people… there may still be a chance to save Marik from a future shrouded in darkness! So please use your strength to help Marik," Ishizu pleaded. The tense atmosphere persisted for a few moments before Isono made an announcement that the lights went out at twelve so we had to return to our rooms before then, it was decided to leave Mai to Shizuka and Anzu.

Jounouchi brough up the promise to Yugi causing Shizuka to suggest having Ishizu peak into the future to see the result of the final match, as Jounouchi told Shizuka off for asking such 'outrageous things' I caught the uncertain glance that the Elony's shot at each other before looking at the woman they served; Ishizu admitted she could no longer see the future since the moment Seto changed his fate and so Ishizu handed over her Millennium Tauk as it was necessary to restore Yami's memories and now no longer served her, thus fulfilling a portion of her mission.

With that done we proceeded to leave the room and return to our own; collapsing down on my bed I stared out into the clouded sky wondering what would happen when all Millennium Items and God Cards were brought together, a gently hand came to lay on my arm causing me to look back up at the individual.

"_Sleep my lady, you will need your strength for what is to come_," Athena insisted. Knowing she was right, I closed my eyes and tried to force myself into slumber, understanding that only trouble was waiting for me the next day.


End file.
